Paul Laurence Dunbar - African American Poetry wrote this poem, "The Poet," three years before his death in 1906 at the age of 34. Its words may express his own regrets about the direction of his literary career. Dunbar was the most famous African American poet, and one of the most famous American poets, of his time. His career brought him international fame and by any measure was a tremendous success. Although Dunbar felt his best work was his poetry in standard English, he was celebrated almost exclusively for his folk poetry about African Americans written in dialect—the "jingle in a broken tongue." His identification with dialect poetry disappointed him during his lifetime and alienated some later African American readers. But Dunbar's poetry has also been praised by readers, from W. E. B. Du Bois to Nikki Giovanni, who recognized the challenges Dunbar faced as a turn-of-the-century...

Sherol Northover - African American Poetry
Oh Africa, let freedom reign - Oh Africa, let freedom reign Rain down a storm On the white man's home, Let him see that God Is watching over all. Let the thunder clap its hands Together we will stand Hand in hand one and all Africa

Frances E. W. Harper - African American Poetry poetry is representative of the African American tradition of protest poetry. A prominent antislavery lecturer, she was well known both for her literary skill and for her political views. Her books were often prefaced with writings by prominent abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison. This collection includes 116 poems published in ten volumes issued from 1854 to 1901, along with ten additional poems from other sources. Harper was also the first African American woman to publish a short story.

Eloise Bibb - African American Poetry This sizable collection—the first published work by Eloise A. Bibb—reveals a firm command of the genre of romantic poetry. Bibb’s approach to her subjects is sentimental; that is, she appeals directly to the emotions in developing her themes on a grand scale. In several poems, this highly pitched manner is used to address contemporary acquaintances or to celebrate great figures of black history such as Frederick Douglass. In many of her other works, Bibb follows another vein of romantic poetry, the historical narrative. Ranging far and wide from medieval Europe to colonial America, these longer poems manifest a universal, animating spirit of passion and fate. Published by the Monthly Review Press in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1895, Poems by Eloise Bibb heralded the arrival of a new talent, in touch with the literary traditions of her time but also...

George Moses Horton - African American Poetry Although the poetry of George Moses Horton does not overtly critique slavery, some scholars sense elements of early African American protest poetry in his writing, particularly in his later work. The Poetical Works of George M. Horton, the Colored Bard of North-Carolina, to which is Prefixed the Life of the Author, Written by Himself was published in 1845 with the help of both whites and slaves who hoped it would generate enough money to buy Horton’s freedom. Unfortunately, Horton never purchased his freedom, but he did live to see Emancipation at the...