List of African American poets

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of notable African American poets. For other African Americans, see Lists of African Americans.

• Ron Allen, poet, playwright ^[1]
• Elizabeth Alexander, poet, essayist, playwright ^[2]
• Maya Angelou, novelist, poet, and activist ^[3]
• Amiri Baraka, poet, writer, activist, and essayist ^[4]
• Gwendolyn B. Bennett, poet, writer, journalist, and artist ^[5]
• Arna Bontemps, poet, novelist, and librarian ^[6]
• Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, author, teacher ^[7]
• Lucille Clifton, poet, writer, and educator ^[8]
• Jayne Cortez, poet, activist, publisher ^[9]
• Countee Cullen, poet, novelist, and playwright ^[10]
• Frank Marshall Davis, poet, journalist ^[11]
• Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet, novelist ^[12]
• Krista Franklin, poet, visual artist ^[13]
• Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator ^[14]
• Frances E. W. Harper, poet ^[15]
• Yona Harvey, poet, professor ^[16]
• Robert Hayden, poet, essayist, and educator ^[17]
• Gil Scott-Heron, poet, author ^[18]
• Langston Hughes, poet, activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist ^[19]
• Erica Hunt, poet, essayist, and teacher ^[20]
• Marilyn Nelson, poet, translator, professor ^[21]
• Pat Parker, poet, activist ^[22]
• Ishmael Reed, poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, playwright, editor, and publisher ^[23]
• Sonia Sanchez, poet, playwright, essayist, educator, and activist ^[24]
• Patricia Smith, poet, playwright, author, teacher, and journalist ^[25]
• Tracy K. Smith, poet, educator ^[26]
• Natasha Trethewey, poet, professor ^[27]
• Alice Walker, novelist, writer, poet, and activist ^[28]
• Phillis Wheatley, poet ^[29]
• Richard Wright, novelist, poet, and essayist ^[30]
• Al Young, poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor ^[31]
• Kevin Young, poet, professor, editor, and literary critic ^[32]

See also

• Poetry portal
• Literature portal

• List of African-American writers
• List of African-American nonfiction writers

References

1. Poets House Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Elizabeth Alexander: Biography and CV". Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
3. Younge, Gary (November 13, 2013). "Maya Angelou: 'I'm fine as wine in the summertime". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
4. "Amiri Baraka, legendary poet who never abandoned Newark, dead at 79". NJ.com. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
5. "Bennett, Gwendolyn (1902-1981) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. March 28, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
6. Wynn, Linda T. (1996). "Arnaud Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973)". Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee. Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History, Tennessee State University. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
7. Watkins, Mel (December 4, 2000). "Gwendolyn Brooks, Whose Poetry Told of Being Black in America, Dies at 83". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
8. David Gura, "Poet Lucille Clifton: 'Everything Is Connected'", NPR, February 28, 2010.
9. Academy of American Poets. "Jayne Cortez | 1934–2012". poets.org. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
10. Early, Gerald. "About Countee Cullen's Life and Career". MAPS: Modern American Poetry Site. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
11. "Frank Marshall Davis: Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Winner". Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
12. "Paul Laurence Dunbar", Poetry Foundation.
13. Aolie, Peyton (October 15, 2015). "Krista Franklin's Like Water exhibit explores female ability to shapeshift". The Chicago Maroon . Retrieved April 25, 2016.
14. Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds), "Nikki Giovanni", Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), p. 213.
15. Bacon, Margaret Hope (1989). ""One Great Bundle of Humanity": Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 113 (1): 21–43. ISSN   0031-4587. JSTOR   20092281.
16. Schneider, Mike (June 26, 2013). "A review of Yona Harvey' s poetry collection Hemming the Water". Pittsugh City Paper. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
17. "Poet Laureate Timeline: 1971-1980". Library of Congress. 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
18. Preston, Rohan B. (September 20, 1994). "Scott-Heron's Jazz Poetry Rich In Soul". The Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
19. Schuessler, Jennifer (August 9, 2018). "Langston Hughes Just Got a Year Older". The New York Times . Retrieved August 9, 2018.
20. Erica Hunt. Poetry Foundation.
21. "Announcing the 2012 Frost Medalist, Marilyn Nelson". Poetry Society of America. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
22. "Rebel Girls from Bay Area History: Pat Parker, Lesbian Feminist Poet and Activist". KQED. April 30, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
23. Elliot Fox, Robert (September 20, 2011). "About Ishmael Reed's Life and Work". Modern American Poetry website. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
24. Jazmyn Burton, "Philadelphia names Sonia Sanchez first poet laureate", Temple News Center, January 28, 2012. Retrieved on November 21, 2014.
25. "Library of Congress Awards Patricia Smith the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, Feb. 17". December 22, 2014.
26. "Tracy K. Smith". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
27. "Pulitzer Prize Winner Trethewey Discusses Poetry Collection". PBS NewsHour . April 25, 2007. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
28. "Once (1968)". Alice Walker The Official Website for the American Novelist & Poet. September 28, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
29. Scruggs, Charles (1998). "Phillis Wheatley". In Barker-Benfield, G. J. (ed.). Portraits of American Women: From Settlement to the Present . New York: Oxford University Press. p.  106. ISBN   978-0-19-512048-6.
30. Mullen, Bill. "Richard Wright (1908–1960)". Modern American Poetry. University of Illinois. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
31. Genzlinger, Neil (April 23, 2021). "Al Young, Poet With a Musical Bent, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
32. Bowley, Graham (September 30, 2020). "Kevin Young, Poet and Author, Is Named to Lead African American Museum". The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.