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Black History Month – Poetry

black text on green background reading black history month

With everything from the Harlem Renaissance to spoken word, the Black community has had an undeniable and profound influence on poetry in the United States and around the world.

 

 


People of Prominence

Gwendolyn Brooks
Biography
Poetry Out Loud: Gwendolyn Brooks
NPR: Remembering Gwendolyn Brooks at 100
Poetry Archive: Gwendolyn Brooks
Library of Congress: Gwendolyn Brooks
Chicago University: Gwendolyn Brooks Center
National Women’s Hall of Fame: Gwendolyn Brooks
Video: An Interview with Gwendolyn Brooks

Amanda Gorman
Biography
Personal Website
Personal Twitter
Time: Michelle Obama interviews Amanda Gorman
Poets.org: Amanda Gorman
Video: Inauguration Poem ‘The Hill We Climb’

Langston Hughes
Biography
Poetry Foundation: Langston Hughes
Poetry Archive: Langston Hughes
National Museum of African American History and Culture: Langston Hughes
Yale Beinecke Library: Langston Hughes Papers
Smithsonian: A Lost Work by Langston Hughes
Video: Langston Hughes and His Poetry

Audre Lorde
Biography
National Museum of African American History and Culture: Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde Project
Poetry Foundation: Audre Lorde
Black Past: Audre Lorde “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”
Writing on Glass: Audre Lorde (site www.writingonglass.com/audre-lorde/ appears to be offline)
Spellman College: The Audre Lorde Papers
Video: Roxane Gay The Selected Works of Audre Lorde
Video: Audre Lorde; Radical Care and Political Warfare


Online Resources

Poetry Foundation: Celebrating Black History Month
Poets.org: 12 Poems to Read for Black History Month
The Root: 20 Black Poets You Should Know (and Love)
LitHub: Queer Black Poets Since the Harlem Renaissance 
Black Excellence: 25 Black Poets for Your Soul
Penguin Random House: Celebrating Black Poets
Poetry Society of America: Black Poets Speak Out
Lift Every Voice
Poet House: Audio Roundup; Black Poets Honoring Black Poets
Teach Living Poets (Video Playlist): Celebrate Black Poets