Poetry

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Color Purple" gives readers her first new collection of poetry in more than a decade, poems that reaffirm her as "one of the best American writers of today" ("The Washington Post").

From the publication of his first book in 1926, Langston Hughes was hailed as the poet laureate of black America, the first to commemorate the experience of African Americans in a voice that no reader, black or white, could fail to hear. Lyrical and...

What happens when a Midwestern girl migrates to a haunted Southern town, whose river is a graveyard, whose streets bear the names of Southern slave owners? How can she build a home where Confederate symbols strategically stand in the center of town? Can...

Dasan Ahanu is a southern storyteller who uses his poetry as a tool for conveying messages and for giving voice to the lived experiences of those who find themselves at the center and in the margins. Everything Worth Fighting For: An exploration of being...

As Marilyn Hacker has written, Black, lesbian, mother, cancer survivor, urban woman: by product of Lorde's selves has ever silenced the others; the counterpoint among them is often the material of her strongest poems.

Celebrate Black poets--a collection of classic and contemporary Black authors selected by New York Times bestselling author Nikki GiovanniAward-winning poet and writer Nikki Giovanni takes on the impossible task of selecting the 100 best African American...

Grace, dignity, and eloquence have long been hallmarks of Maya Angelou's poetry. Her measured verses have stirred our souls, energized our minds, and healed our hearts. Whether offering hope in the darkest of nights or expressing sincere joy at the...

A poetry collection that reflects on intimate aspects of Black history, culture, and identity, revealing an uncommon gaze on working-class Philadelphia from the 1960s to the present day In 55 poems, Migration Letters straddles the personal and public...

Best African American Poems: Past and Present gives the history of excellent poems written by poets whose works have stood the test of time. Current poems highlighted by powerful poets also add richness to this historical work; which will whet...

A fresh and electrifying collection of stories, poems, and essays from across the African continent.Many people in the world today see those who do not look like them, or who speak differently as being separate; as "other." Relations challenges the human...

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts and informed generations. She's been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a courageous activist who has spoken out on the sensitive issues that touch our national consciousness, including...

The third collection of poetry from the author of Lighthead, winner of the 2010 National Book Award Watch for the new collection of poetry from Terrance Hayes, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin, coming in June of 2018 Terrance Hayes is an...

Curing The Whitewashed Black Man is an anthology of poetry that reveals the spiritual introspection journey of Smiley's ethnic identity. As a black man who grew up in a multiethnic Christian church, he often considered himself a peacekeeping reconciler...

Honored as a Best Book of 2014 by Library Journal Honored as a Standout Book of 2014 by American Poet magazine Winnner of the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry Paterson Award for Literary Excellence, 2015 NPR.org writes: "In his second...

This book of poems presents a cross-generational conversation between Sally Hemings and the contemporary narrator about what it means to be a black woman in their respective landscapes, while at the same time demonstrating how little the ways in which we...

Winner, 2017 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award Winner, 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in the Poetry category Finalist, 2015 Balcones Poetry Prize Shortlist finalist, 2015 PEN Open Book Award for an exceptional book by an author of color "Another...