POET PROFILE

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (1872-1906)

was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended the public schools of that city.

The son of two former slaves, JOSHUA DUNBAR, who escaped enslavement in Kentucky and fought  in the Civil War, and MATILDA MURPHY DUNBAR, who taught the young Paul how to read, Dunbar himself, was never enslaved.

Dunbar published his first volume of poetry, "Oak and Ivy," in 1893.

He was steep in the oral tradition, and would go on to become a powerful interpreter of the Black experience in literature, essays, and poetry. These writings were militant by the standards of his day.

Dunbar gained international renown and popularized Black literature by lecturing and reading his poetry.

Dunbar published prolifically, over 400 poems, 4 novels, 4 collections of short stories,dozens of articles in magazines, song lyrics, musical plays and sketches.

His death in 1906 at the age of 35 followed years of declining health, including alcohol abuse and tuberculosis.

Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of the greatest poets in the Black tradition

POET profile

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON  1871-1938


James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1871. He grew up in a middle-class household. His mother was a school teacher, and his father headwaiter at a luxury hotel.

He was a versatile man of letters: a poet, a librettist and songwriter, novelist, historian, anthologist, and autobiographer.

JOHNSON is best known for his 1901 poem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," as set to music by J. Rosamond Johnson. It is often referred to as the "Black National Anthem,". His true maturity as a poet, however, was reached with "Fifty Years and Other Poems published in 1917.

A graduate of Atlanta University. Johnson began his distinguished  and wide-ranging
 professional life simply enough, as a Jacksonville school teacher. Simultaneously pursuing studies in the law, Johnson embarked  on a law career after passing the Florida bar , then moved to New York City to write for Broadway.

JOHNSON died  in 1938.

poet PROFILE

James David Corrothers was born in Michigan in 1869. He was raised by his grandfather until he passed away in 1885 ,when Corrothers was 16.

Two years later in 1887, Corrothers moved to Chicago, where through the persuasion of journalist, Henry Demarest Lloyd, who had read some of his poetry, he was hired by the Chicago Tribune as a writer.

In 1902 , Corrothers collected his most important poems and articles and published them in an anthology called The Black Cat Club. This publication established him as a major literary figure.

When he died in 1917, James David Corrothers was considered one of the leading Black literary figures in the nation.

To read a more detailed bio and sample his work GOOGLE his name

celebrate BLACK POETRY

Today we celebrate Black Poetry Day in honor of Jupiter Hammon, who is believed to be the first African American to publish poetry in the United States. He was born into slavery in Long Island, New York on October 17, 1711.

His poem “An Evening Thought” was first published on Christmas Day at the age of 49. Hammon is considered one of the founders of African-American literature.

In honor of Hammon’s birth, we celebrate the contributions of all African Americans to the world of poetry. Some of the most notable are Langston Hughes, Phyllis Wheatley, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Maya Angelou.

It’s no surprise that many of the early poems by African Americans spoke of overcoming struggles and hardship, often with encouragement and a look to a brighter future.

One of my favorites is by Langston Hughes, “I Too Am America.” 

I, Too

by Langston Hughes
written in 1932

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

How will you celebrate this day?

1. Look up and reflect on the meaning of poems written by African Americans. See a list of a few athttp://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets_african_american.html and at http://www.ehow.com/list_5842906_famous-black-poets-authors.html

2. You don’t have to be an African American to write a poem of encouragement, telling how you overcame something in your life or celebrating freedom. Try your hand at a poem now. 

3. Learn about the Harlem Renaissance, a period after World War I when many Blacks migrated North. During this period,  Black poet and writers openly celebrated their history and contributions and opened the doors for many other Black writers to share and be recognized for their work.      

-By FLORA-

                                                      JUPITER HAMMON

poetic BIRTHDAY

AMIRI BARAKA was born Everett LeRoi Jones on this day in Newark, New Jersey. He was a poet, writer, teacher, and political activist.


His first book of poems "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note,"  was published in 1961.


He was the author of numerous books of poetry during his writing career which spanned nearly 50 years. His themes ranged form Black liberation to White racism.


Baraka's poetry and writing has attracted both extreme praise and condemnation.

In July 2002, Baraka was named Poet Laureate of New Jersey.

Amiri Baraka died in 2014. He is recognized as one of the most respected and widely published Black writers of his generation.


To read his life and times, and sample his poetry and writings GOOGLE his name.

poetic BIRTHDAY

CLAUDE MCKAY was born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica on September 15, 1889.  His love for his island home inspired his first two books of poetry which were published in 1912. Most of these poems were in Jamaican dialect.

MCKAY'S best-known poems are militant and angry sonnets which urges people to fight against injustice.

In 1922 MCKAY published his most important collection of poems, Harlem Shadows. These poems express Black America's mood of desperation and defiance.

MCKAY was also a writer who wrote novels. His novel Home to Harlem, published in 1928, was the first best-seller by a Black author and won the Harmon Foundation Gold Medal Award for Literature.

MCKAY died in 1948.

For a bio and a sampling of his poetry and writings GOOGLE his name

POET PROFILE

James Edwin Campbell (1867-1896) was born in Pomeroy, Ohio.

He was a poet, educator and journalist. Campbell created dynamic verses in "Gullah" dialect that were praised for their originality, realism, authentic voice, and spirit.

Although Paul Laurence Dunbar is credited with popularizing verse in dialect, Campbell had been publishing poetry of this type years before Dunbar became successful.


Near the close of the 19th century, Campbell moved to Chicago and was a staff writer for the Times-Herald. He also wrote articles and poems for other periodicals.  Like his predecessor, Dunbar, Campbell died of pneumonia at an early age. He was  28.


Campbell wrote two volumes of poetry.  "Driftings and Gleanings" (1887) and "Echoes from the Cabin and Elsewhere" (1895).



To read more about this early Black poet and sample his poetry GOOGLE his name

POETIC BIRTHDAYS IN AUGUST

8/28/1952 - RITA DOVE - was born in Akron, Ohio.

She is a highly acclaimed poet, author and college professor, who served as the Poet Laureate of the U.S. from 1993-95.

She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987 for her collection "Thomas and Beulah."  She also served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004-06.

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8/30/1852 - Henrietta Cordelia Ray was born in New York City.

She was a  poet, writer, teacher, and activist.

 She received national acclaim when her poem "Lincoln" was read at a dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C. in 1876. The event was attended by Frederick Douglas.

See "POET PROFILE" this blog dated 1/3/15 for further biographical info on Henietta Cordelia Ray.



*** SPECIAL NOTE:  These two poets were born almost exactly 100 years apart.



To read their bios and sample their poetry GOOGLE their names

POET PROFILE

MARY WESTON FORDHAM (1844-1905) was a poet, educator writer and teacher. Very little is known of her.

She is best known for her collection of poetry MAGNOLIA LEAVES, published in 1897.

To read a brief bio and sample her poetry GOOGLE her name.

POETIC BIRTHDAYS FOR JULY

MARGARET WALKER - (7/7/1915 - 11/30/1998) - Was well noted for her poetry, but she was also a distinguished professor of literature at Jackson State College. A historically Black school, she worked there for 30 years (1949-1979). In 1968 she founded the Institute for the Study of History, Life, and Culture of Black people. It is now called the Margaret Walker Center.

Google her name to read her poetry and learn more





JUNE JORDAN - 7/9/1936 - 6/14/2002  - While serving as a full professor at the University of California Berkeley, in three departments, English, Women Studies, and African American Studies, Jordan was known as the "Poet of the People" (1989-2002).  In 1991 she founded the "Poetry for the People" program. It's aim was to inspire and empower students to use poetry as a means of artistic expression.

Google her name to read her poetry and learn more

POET PROFILE

DANIEL WEBSTER DAVIS was born the son of slaves on March 25,1862, in Virginia's Caroline County. His parents John and Charlotte Ann (Christian) Davis had been born and were slaves until emancipation. 

Soon after the civil war Davis moved to Richmond, Virginia with his widowed mother and sister. He attended local schools , and at 16, was graduated from Richmond High and Normal School. For two years he worked at odd jobs until he was old enough to teach. He began teaching in 1880. His teaching career spanned over three decades. During that time he also conducted summer normal school throughout Virginia, and taught summer school in West Virginia and the Carolina's.

Davis was ordained a Baptist minister in 1896, after attending the Lynchburg Baptist Seminary. He later became the pastor of Second Baptist Church of South Richmond, where he served until his death.

Davis was a poet,  educator, Baptist minister, popular orator, historian, and a leader of Richmond, Virginia's Black community for over three decades.

He died in 1913.


To read a comprehensive bio and sample his poetry GOOGLE his name.

POETIC BIRTHDAYS FOR JUNE

GWENDOLYN BROOKS - (6/7/1917-12/3/2000)     Was the first Black person to win a Pulitzer prize when she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry  in 1950 for her second collection, "ANNIE ALLEN."

NIKKI GIOVANNI - (6/7/1943)   Initially gained famed in the 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT. Her early work, which was influenced by a strong Black militant perspective,  had her dubbed the "Poet of the Black Revolution."

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (6/17/1871-6/26/1938)   Established his reputation as a writer during the Harlem Renaissance for his poems and novels.

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR (6/27/1872-2/9/1906)   Was a poet, novelist, and playwright. He was one of the first Black writers to establish a national reputation. He published his first poems at the age of 16.

LUCILLE CLIFTON  (6/27/1936- 2/13/2010)   Was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her first poetry collection, "Good Times,"  published in 1969, was listed by the N.Y. Times  as one of the year's ten best books.

To learn more about these poets and sample their poetry GOOGLE their names and read the related entries.

POETIC BIRTHDAY

END OF MAY BIRTHDAY


5/30/1962  -ELIZABETH ALEXANDER  

In 2009, Alexander recited a poem she wrote for the presidential inauguration of Barrack Obama, becoming only the 4th poet to read at such an event. 

To read her bio and sample her poetry please GOOGLE her name.

POET PROFILE

JOSEPHINE DELPHINE HENDERSON HEARD was born the daughter of North Carolina slaves, on October 11, 1861.  

Heard received a good education, taught school and married Bishop William Henry Heard, with whom she traveled throughout the world.

She showed great promise in education especially for reading and writing. As a result she was encouraged to pursue poetry and in 1890 published a collection of poems entitled "Morning Glories."

Heard died in the early 1920's.

POETIC BIRTHDAYS FOR APRIL

THE FOLLOWING BLACK POETS WILL CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAYS THIS MONTH:

4/16/1972 - Tracy K. Smith

4/26/1966 - Natasha Trethewey

4/29/1947 - Yusef Komunyakaa

FOR A BIO AND SAMPLING OF THEIR POETRY - GOOGLE THEIR NAMES.

POETIC BIRTHDAY

A REMEMBRANCE CELEBRATION FOR APRIL'S POETIC  BIRTHDAYS




4/3/1826 - JAMES MADISON BELL - 1826 - 1902

4/4/1928 -MAYA ANGELOU -1928-2014






For a bio, and sampling of their verse, Google-search their names.

POET PROFILE

JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER, SR, was a poet and writer who was one of the first Black playwrights to be published in this country.

Born in Bardstown, Kentucky, on February 2, 1861, at the start of the American civil war, Cotter Sr. was also an educator and community leader, who was a worker for racial progress.

Cotter Sr. began his teaching career in 1889, and went on to become a teacher and an administrator with the Louisville, Kentucky public school system for more than fifty years.

In 1891 Cotter married his fellow educator Maria F. Cox, with whom he had three children, including the important poet, and playwright in his own right, JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER,

JR, who was born on September 2, 1895 in Louisville. Cotter Jr. died of tuberculosis in 1919. Cotter Sr. went on  to promote Cotter Jr's writings many years after this untimely death.

Although Cotter Sr.  was a prominent educator and Black civic leader, he is remembered primarily for his poetry. Cotter  Sr. published his first volume of poetry in 1895 and went on to publish nine books of poetry, plays and fiction on wide-ranging historical, philosophical and social themes. 

During his lifetime Cotter Sr. became known as "Kentucky's first Black poet with real creative ability."

He died in 1949.

To read the bios and sample the poetry and other writings of this father-son duo Google-search their names.

POETIC BIRTHDAY

AUDRE LORDE was born on February 18, 1934 in New York City.

The youngest of three sisters, born to parents from the Caribbean, she was a poet and writer.  A recurrent theme in her writings explores pride, love, anger, fear, racial and sexual oppression, urban neglect, and personal survival.

Audre wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. After high school, she attended Hunter College, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1959. Two years later in 1961, she received a master's degree in library science from Columbia University.

Her first volume of poetry was published in 1968. A second volume followed in 1970. 

Throughout her career, Lorde wrote at a feverish pace; and as she grew older her poetry became more personal and open. To her, writing was more than a choice, or a way of making a living,  it was her responsibility. As a result, she has produced numerous poetry and non-fiction writing collections.

Audre Lorde died at the age of 58 in 1992 .

To read a more detailed bio and check out her poetry collections Google-search her name

POET PROFILE

George Marion McClellan was born on September 29, 1860, in Belfast, Tennessee. He was a poet, writer, minister, and educator.

Although very little is known about his early life, in 1885 at the age of 25, he got his degree from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and two years later he received his master's degree, also from Fisk.

During the beginning of the 1880s, McClellan composed poetry and in 1895 published "Poems," a collection of his works. He republished this volume in 1896 under the title "Songs of a Southener," and in 1916 he published his second collection of poetry, "The Path of Dreams."

Although his poetry and other writings were not considered protest poetry, like a lot of the early Black poets before him, his works did express some consciousness of race and the struggle for equality.

In 1891, McClellan received a bachelor of divinity degree from the Hartford Theological Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut and later served as a Congregational Minister back in Nashville.  

Between 1894 and 1896 he worked as a chaplain and teacher at the State Normal School for Colored Persons in Normal, Alabama.

In 1901 his poetry appeared in an exhibit at the Pan American Exposition, and a subsequent review in the New York Times compared his work to that of the renowned poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Throughout the remainder of his life, McClellan continued to fight for racial justice, dignity, and equality for Black people. He died in 1934 at the age of 73. 

TO READ A COMPREHENSIVE BIO AND SAMPLE HIS POETRY GOOGLE-SEARCH HIS NAME. NOTE: To avoid confusion with someone of the same, name please Google-search George M. McClellan, poet 

POET PROFILE

Langston Hughes was born on 2/1/1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He was a poet, novelist, playwright, and composer. At one time he was considered the "poet laureate of Black people." 

Hughes' interest in writing came at an early age. While attending high school in Cleveland, Ohio, he wrote for the school newspaper, and edited the yearbook. It was also at this time that he began to write his first poetry, short stories and plays.

His first poem, "Weary Blues," was published in 1926. His first novel, "Not Without Laughter," was published in 1930.

Hughes earned his B.A. degree from Lincoln University, a historically Black college, in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1929.

His poetry is filled with images of rural and urban class Black people and their experiences in the cultures of blues and jazz. His eloquent prose and poetry is considered some of the very best work of any writer in the first half of the 20th century

Hughes died in 1967.

To read more of his remarkable career Google-search his name