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Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. [2][3] Born in West Africa, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where ...
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas, and was raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. She was the first child of David Anderson Brooks and Keziah (Wims) Brooks. [ 2 ] Her father, a janitor for a music company, had hoped to pursue a career as a doctor but sacrificed that aspiration to support getting ...
Maya Angelou (/ ˈændʒəloʊ / ⓘ AN-jə-loh; [1][2] born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over ...
Nikki Giovanni. Yolande Cornelia " Nikki " Giovanni Jr.[ 1 ][ 2 ] (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, [ 2 ] her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social ...
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 [ 1 ] – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that ...
Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913 – February 25, 1980) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1978, a role today known as US Poet Laureate. [ 1 ] He was the first African-American writer to hold the office.
Sonia Sanchez. Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 9, 1934) [1] is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays, and children's books. In the 1960s, Sanchez released poems in ...
Website. www.theamandagorman.com. Amanda S. C. Gorman[ 1 ] (born March 7, 1998) [ 2 ] is an American poet, activist, and model. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate.