Despite experiencing racism, the Blacks excelled in every field be it education, music or art. Their poetry is an inspiration to generations and generations of poets and races that still face racism. Elizabeth Alexander, the poet who composed “Praise Song for the Day” poem for the inauguration of President Barack Obama is the 1st one to receive the Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellowship. Her books The Venus Hottentot, Body of Life, Antebellum Dream Book, and American Sublime are quite famous. Gwendolyn Brooks, the first black poets to bag the Pulitzer Prize in poetry motivates the contemporary poets. Lucille Clifton, the Afro-American poet known for her poems on spirituality, womanhood and African-American identity won the National Book Award. Rita Dove, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Saeed Jones, Jean Toomer and Langston Hughes are some of the greatest black poets. Continue reading to know more about the famous Black poets of all time.
James Weldon Johnson(Educator, Lawyer, Diplomat, Songwriter, Writer, Anthropologist, Poet and Activist)
17 June 1871
American
Paul Laurence Dunbar(Writer, Novelist, Playwright, Poet)
27 June 1872
American
Rita Dove(Poet, Writer)
28 August 1952
American
Yolande Cornelia Giovanni07 June 1943
American
