POET PROFILE

ANNE SPENCER BANNISTER (1882-1975) poet, teacher, civil rights activist, and gardener, was born Annie Bethel Bannister on February 6, 1882, the only child of Joel Cephus Bannister and Sarah Louise Scales, in Henry County,Virginia.

Her development as a poet began in early childhood where she enjoyed a great amount of freedom and solitude to explore the natural world. During this time she did not attend school because her mother felt that the local schools were unsuitable for her daughter. She read catalogs like Sears and Roebuck and wrote independently in her many moments alone.

 Anne was eventually enrolled in the Virginia Theological Seminary, in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1893 at the age of 11, where, despite having a mostly illiterate  childhood, she graduated as valedictorian of her class in 1899. After graduation she became a teacher and taught school throughout Virginia until 1901.

Her literary life began at the seminary where she wrote her first poem. She continued to write poetry to record her thoughts and feelings.

In 1919, while working to establish a branch of the NAACP in Lynchburg, Anne met and worked with the poet and activist James Weldon Johnson, who discovered her poetry. Using Johnson's editor, she published her first poem in 1920 in the "Crisis" magazine.

The themes of her poetry were religion, race (though rarely explicit), and the natural world. Although she did not write "protest" poetry, she was obviously well aware of White oppression. Many of her poems convey a romantic concern with the human search for beauty and meaning in a disgusting world. According to "The Vintage Book of African American Poetry"..."Her most rigorous poems engage the reader through piercing images and chiseled, precise language..."

Anne did not publish any volumes of poetry during her lifetime, but she was published extensively during the 20's in the most prestigious periodicals,collections, literary journals, and anthologies. She won national attention for her poetry, and as a result,  friendship of some of the most prominent Black writers of that era. Anne resided exclusively in Virginia,  where she worked for almost two decades as the librarian of Dunbar High School, but she maintained close friendships with many writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. Du Bois included among them.

Anne was poetically active until her death in 1975. She will be remembered as one of the most significant poets of all time.

           

POET PROFILE

WILLIAM STANLEY BEAUMONT BRAITHWAITE  (1878-1962)
was born into a well-to-do, family  in  Boston, Massachusetts.

Braithwaite was largely tutored at home by his father, William Smith Braithwaite, who had spent time in England studying medicine. The younger Braithwaite studied the usual subjects, plus French and literature. His father died when Braithwaite  was the age of  7, his death plunging the entire family into poverty.

Braithwaite's mother, Emma Dewolfe Braithwaite began working as a domestic to support her growing family.

Braithwaite had to quit school at the age of 13 to help his mother support the family. He worked as an errand boy for various proprietors for a few years. Finally, at the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a typesetter for a publisher, Ginn & Company. It was here that he developed an affinity for books, writing and poetry, and where he began writing  his own poems.

Braithwaite eventually published 3 volumes of poetry.

His first book, "Lyrics of Life," was self-published in 1904.  His 2nd volume, "The House of Falling Leaves," was similarly published in 1908. His third volume, "Selected Poems," was published in 1948.  Braithwaite's poems reflects  his love  of the universal theme of  loneliness and passion.

During his career, Braithwaite compiled and edited numerous poetry anthologies from poems collected from various periodicals. These yearly anthologies helped to launch the careers of many American poets.

Braithwaite died at his home in Harlem, New York in 1962.

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

PRISCILLA JANE THOMPSON (1871-1942)



Was born in Rossmoyne, Ohio. She was the daughter of John Henry Thompson and Clara Jane Gray, former slaves from Virginia.

Priscilla attended school in her home town, which was near Cincinnati, Ohio. She considered a career in teaching, however, ill health prevented her from pursuing this vocation. Instead, she devoted her energies to writing, publishing, and giving readings of her poetry.

Thompson's first book of poems, ETHIOPE LAYS, was published in 1900. In the introduction to this volume, Thompson says that she aims "as nearly as possible to picture the real side of my race, bringing in the foreground, their patience, fortitude and forbearance, devoid of that undertone of sarcasm, generally courted."

 Her second volume, GLEANINGS OF QUIET HOURS, was published in 1907. She self-published and sold both volumes.

Thompson's poems deal with the themes of romantic love, death, religion, and race.

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.

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.

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.

POET PROFILE

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Henrietta Cordelia Ray,  poet, writer, teacher, and activist, was born somewhere between 1849 and 1852. Her specific year of birth is uncertain. The fact that she was born into a well-to-do family, however, is not.

She was one of seven children. Her father, Charles Ray, a minister and abolitionist,  believed that breeding and culture were important assets in life.

Henrietta had high aspirations. She wanted to make her mark in literature, gaining major notice as a writer in 1876, when her poem  "Lincoln" was read at a dedication ceremony attended by Frederick Douglas. 

After graduating from the Sauvener School of Languages and the University of the City of New York in 1891, she went on to become a NYC school teacher and taught in the public school system for over 30 years.

Meanwhile, her poetry over the years, appeared in several publications and friends encouraged her to publish a complete collection. She published two collections of 146 poems, whose technique has been described as "unusually rich."

"Sonnets" was published in 1893 and "Poems" in 1910.

Ray died in 1917.

To read her complete bio Google-search her name

To read her poetry log on to poetryfoundation.org, poets.org or poemhunters.com

POET PROFILE

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ALBERY ALLSON WHITMAN was born a slave in Hart County, Kentucky in 1851, and went on to become the finest Black poet of his era. At one time he was considered the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race. 

When slavery ended in 1865,Whitman, whose parents died before emancipation, was orphaned. He was 14 years old.

He worked in various trades:  at a plow shop, railroad construction, and as a school teacher. Although he had very little schooling,  Whitman published  his first volume of poetry in 1870.  At about the same time, he also entered Wilberforce University in Ohio. 

After 6 months at the school, Whitman went on to become a pastor under the guidance of Bishop Daniel Payne, who was one of the founders of the university in 1856, and in 1863, after the AME church bought the school, he became the first Black president of a college in the United States.

Although never formally ordained, in 1877 , at the age of 26, Whitman became pastor of an AME church in Springfield,Ohio. From 1879-83 he established churches and led congregations in  Ohio, Kansas, Texas, and Georgia. During those years, his poetry was highly praised by critics and other poets as well.

Whitman was an innovator, and fearless in his poetic voice. His achievements place him in the first rank of contemporary Black and White poets. His talents as a poet has been described as somewhere between Phillis Wheatley and Paul L. Dunbar.

He died of pneumonia in 1901. 

To read more details of his bio, Google his name

POET PROFILE

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ALFRED ISLAY WALDEN was born a slave in 1847, in Randolph County, North Carolina. He was the son of a slave woman by the name of Ruth. His father, William D. Walden, was a free man who was highly respected in the community.

Walden was gifted with innate abilities in math and language, which expressed themselves even before he was able to read. These blessings of mental math calculations, and the formulation of random verses, was discovered by his master who often showed Walden's talents off to his contemporaries, and referred to him as a poet.

In 1867, after 18 years of slavery in North Carolina,Walden, who was threatened all of his life with blindness because of nearsightedness, was nevertheless   determined to learn to read and to become a minister. During the winter of that year he traveled to Washington, D.C. on foot and supported himself by selling poems and giving lectures.

He published his first book of poems Miscellaneous Poems in 1872 and a second edition in 1873 to help finance his education.

Walden enrolled in Howard University on a scholarship and earned his degree in 1876.

In 1877 he published Sacred Poems, again as a means to pay for his education.

 In 1879 after completing 3 years at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Walden was ordained to the ministry, becoming one of the first Black graduates to achieve that distinction.  

Walden returned to North Carolina and organized his own congregation. He died there in 1884 and was buried in the churchyard at Strieby Congregational Church.

To read a comprehensive bio of Walden , Google Search his name.

To sample his poetry log on to poetryfoundation.org and poemhunters.com

POET PROFILE

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JAMES MONROE WHITFIELD (1822-1871)

     Was free born in New Hampshire in 1822. Little is known about him, so he remains much of a mysterious and interesting character to study.

He was well-traveled, and worked as a barber all of his life, living in places like Buffalo, New York, California, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada.

Whitfield wrote forceful protest poems, and his writings appeared often in Black newspapers and periodicals. He also read and recited his verse in public.

It was said of him, "He was an outstanding poet whose impassioned protest verse combined bitter anger and artistry."

Whitfield's only published volume is "America and Other Poems."

He died in 1871 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery of San Francisco.

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To read and perhaps discover more info, please consult the following books:

"Invisible Poets: Afro-Americans of the Nineteenth Century, 2nd ed., 1989 - Joan R. Sherman-

The Concise Oxford Companion to African-American Literature 2001 Oxford University Press

To read a short bio and one of his poems, click on the following link poetryfoundation.org and search his full name.

Also google-search his name for more details.

POET PROFILE

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JOSHUA McCARTER SIMPSON
             (1820-1876)


Was an Anti-Slavery poet, an Underground Railroad conductor, and Abolitionist Songwriter, among many things.  Born free in Windsor, Ohio, he was bound out as a laborer, (indentured servant) and worked for a hard master until the age of 21. With very little schooling, (about 3 months), he eventually taught himself to read and write.

In his own words:
  "As soon as I could write, which was not until I was 21, a spirit of poetry, (which was always in me), became revived, and seemed to waft before my mind, horrid pictures of the condition of my people, and something seemed to say, 'write and sing about it-you can sing what would be death to speak,' so I began to write and sing."

     Simpson's protest poems spoke up for emancipation and civil rights. They were set to popular tunes, and fugitives on the underground railroad sang his song poems in the 1850s.
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For more info on his life, log on to poetryfoundation.org and search his name.

To read a collection of his poetry, log on to poemhunters.com and search his name.

For further details, google-search his name, and read all the entries that are applicable.

POET PROFILE

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GEORGE MOSES HORTON
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(1798-1883)


Was born a slave on a plantation in North Carolina.  Horton lived as a slave for 66 years, becoming "free" with implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation.  He taught himself to read and in later years he soon learned to write.

Horton became a prolific writer, eventually publishing 150 poems or more. His subject matter included his bondage, love, religion, nature, the civil war, and the art of poetry.  

George Moses Horton was the first Black poet to be published in the South.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^for details on his remarkable life click on the following links poetryfoundation.org---poets.org

To read his collection of poems click on poemhunter.com

SEARCH HIS NAME ON EACH SITE!
**For additional tidbits, Google search his name.