Poetry is a form of art that has been used to heal, inform and empower people for centuries. More than just an artistic form of exploration and experimentation, poetry serves as a way to preserve culture, celebrate love, mourn loss, and connect through the trials and triumphs of our human experiences. For many poets, writing poetry is a way to use their voice and generate a platform of likeminded people to advocate for change.
This is especially true for marginalized people, particularly Black women, who have used their craft to critique social injustices, political oppression, and societal norms.
How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky | TED
Over the last decade, women have continued to innovate and propel the creative art form to new and innovative heights. We are celebrating the outstanding achievements of female creatives throughout history. Stories help us understand the world and see it through another’s eyes. They can be an escape, teach us empathy, and inspire change.
Pioneering Voices in Poetry
One can’t talk about poetry without talking about Phillis Wheatley and her contributions. She was the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Wheatley was born in West Africa before she was sold into slavery as a young child.
She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston who not only taught her to read and write, but they encouraged her poetry as well. It was her master’s son who sought to get her work published and her first work, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in London in 1773.
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Before her death, she was emancipated from the Wheatleys, but her former owner's death left her in poverty. She died in 1784 at the young age of 31.
Jessie Redmon Fauset came from humble beginnings. The poet was one of seven children before the passing of her mother and the remarrying of her father. Both of her parents died young, and while she experienced poverty growing up, she attended a prestigious high school in Philadelphia.
Graduating as their valedictorian, she had dreams of studying at Bryn Mawr College. Because of the racial injustice at the time, they did not accept her and instead found her a scholarship to another university - Cornell. After gaining a degree in classical languages, she became a teacher and then a literary editor. Her work as an editor helped foster many names of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly Langston Hughes. Some works to look into are Rondeau and La Vie C’est La Vie.
Gwendolyn Brooks rose to fame as one of the most influential Black poets of the 20th century, using her writing skills as a way to speak out against stereotypes and racism, thus showing that she was passionate about social justice and societal norms. Gwendolyn Brooks is another prolific name in poetry. Her career would continue to grow from there.
In May 1950, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Gwendolyn Brooks, without a doubt, helped open doors for other Black poets, male and female.
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Nikki Giovanni’s journey begins in Tennessee before it would lead her to numerous states. She finally landed back in Tennessee when she began attending Fisk University as an early entrant. Soon after her graduation in 1967, she experienced the loss of her grandmother which led to her turning to write to cope.
These poems can be found in her collection Black Feelings, Black Talk. She would also play a major role in the Black Arts Movement which led to her being recognized and celebrated with an NAACP Image Award as well as a Grammy Award nomination for her poetry album The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection.
Elizabeth Alexander was born in New York City and raised in Washington, D.C. Alexander’s youth continued with early education at Sidwell Friends School before she attended Yale University. Later, she would attend Boston University where she studied poetry and gained her Master’s in 1987.
Elizabeth Alexander furthered her education with a Ph.D. in English from UPenn. She published her first poems in 1990 and has continued to periodically release poems since then. Alexander has taught poetry at Yale University and chaired the African American Studies department. She is currently faculty at Columbia University and president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Lucille Clifton was born in Depew, New York before her education took her to Howard University and ultimately back to the Buffalo area where she continued her studies at the State University of New York at Fredonia.
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Clifton’s poetry career began in 1969 when she published her first collection, Good Times, which was listed by The New York Times as one of the year’s best books. She has since served as poet-in-residence and Poet Laureates for several colleges and universities. The poet has received an Emmy Award and was nominated for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
Rita Dove, born in Akron, Ohio, excelled in education early on in her life. She graduated from Buchtel High School as a Presidential Scholar and would later get her Bachelor’s Degree from Miami University and her Master’s degree from the University of Iowa. Her career is quite an amazing one.
She served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987, making her the second African American to do so. To read some of her amazing poetry, check her collections like Sonata Mulattica, American Smooth, and Mother Love.
Cheryl Clarke was born and raised in Washington, D.C. Clarke’s education would find her attending Howard University where she received a B.A. in English literature. She would then earn her Master’s degree from Rutgers University.
Clarke continued her education at Rutgers and gain a Master’s in Social Work in 1980 and a Ph.D. in 2000. She has four collections of poetry, many of which explain her experiences as both a Black woman and a lesbian. Two of her most notable poems include Lesbianism: an Act of Resistance and The Failure to Transform: Homophobia in the Black Community.
Claudia Rankine, another Jamaican-born poet on this list, would go on to be educated at Williams College in Massachusetts and Columbia University. Her most popular work is her book of poetry, Citizen: An American Lyric. It won both the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Award and the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. Rankine is also the winner of the 2015 NAACP Image Award in poetry.
Toni Morrison is another great name in poetry. Born in Ohio, Morrison’s education would take her to Howard University where she got her Bachelor’s in English, and Cornell University where she earned her Master’s in American Literature.
Her prolific career includes her becoming the first black female editor at Random House in the late 1960s. A decade later, Morrison would focus on her writing. One of her most celebrated works is her novel Beloved, which was made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She also received the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. After she died in 2019, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
When Amanda Gorman ascended to the steps of our nation’s capital she did so standing on the shoulders of Black women who have captured the spirit of momentous occasions in black and white for generations. Gorman contributed to a rich legacy that includes Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Tracy K. Smith, Maya Angelou and more when she became the youngest National Poet Laureate.
Poet laureates are not just trotted out every four years. They’re actively creating in cities across the country, crystallizing the markers that make up our collective history. Youth poet Amanda Gorman shined during the 2021 Presidential Inauguration as she read her empowering piece, “The Hill We Climb” - a poem filled with calls for unity and justice while building toward a brighter future.
“I would be nowhere without the women whose footsteps I dance in,” Gorman tweeted while thanking the millions of newcomers eager to learn more about her work after she participated in the inauguration. Gorman, who also made history when she was appointed our country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, isn’t twirling in those footsteps alone.
The Enduring Legacy of Maya Angelou
One couldn’t forget one of the most talked about and memorable female poets of the 20th century that bled into the 21st century-Maya Angelou. If you think “Black female poet,” the first name for many will be Maya Angelou. Singularly, she did so much for poetry as a whole. Born in Missouri, Angelou moved around before resettling back in St. Louis. Early childhood trauma left her mute for five years, but as we know, she eventually blossomed into a celebrated wordsmith.
Her work has been discussed in many high school and college classrooms and she is a well-known close friend of successful Black talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey. She worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and was even an educator herself.
The revered author rose to prominence after releasing I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in 1969, but Angelou has published a wide range of bestselling books and is the recipient of more than 30 honorary degrees and awards. In 1992, the famous poet made history at the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton after she read, “On the Pulse of Morning,” becoming the first African American woman to write and present a poem for the historic event.
Former President Barack Obama honored Angelou with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 and she also was given the 2013 Literarian Award for her contributions to writing and poetry.
Here are some of her famous lines: "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies, / You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I’ll rise."
Angelou has an endless number of celebrated works including the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Her collection of great works include I Shall Not Be Moved, Phenomenal Women, and And Still I Rise.
Audre Lorde: A Voice for Justice
Civil rights activist Audre Lorde is another one of the most popular female Black poets of her generation. She was a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” who dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, classism, and homophobia.
Audre Lorde, an influential Black lesbian social feminist poet, is among the most intriguing poets I know of. She was out and open about her sexuality and played a big part in advocating second-wave feminism and speaking out on Black rights simultaneously. This poem, Love Poem, was published in 1975 about an intimate love interaction between Lorde and another woman.
Lorde’s early collections of poetry include The First Cities (1968), Cables to Rage (1970), and From a Land Where Other People Live (1972), which was nominated for a National Book Award. Her later works, including New York Head Shop and Museum (1974), Coal (1976), and The Black Unicorn (1978), included powerful poems of protest.
A hero for Black people and the LGBTQ+ community, she has received numerous accolades for her work. Her poetry can be found in books like The First Cities, Cables to Rage, and Between Our Selves.
Contemporary Poets Making Waves
- Mahogany L. Browne is a poet who currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. Often writing on how society and social injustice affects women and children, some of her works are Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, and Kissing Caskets.
- Born in Chicago, Jamilla Woods is not only a poet, but she’s also a singer-songwriter. Woods is a graduate of Brown University, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies and Theater & Performance Studies. She released her first chapbook in 2012 entitled The Truth About Dolls.
- Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ava Monet is of Cuban-Jamaican descent. In 2007, she was the youngest poet to become the Nuyorican Poet Cafe Grand Slam Champion at the age of 19, and she has been the last woman to win since then. Some of her poetry that you can look into are My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, The Black Unicorn Sings, and Chorus.
California's Literary Gems
It comes as no surprise that California is home to a diverse array of accomplished poets. The Golden State’s literary geniuses remind us that works by Black poets are masterful in form and inspirational in their nature. Whether they’re telling stories about loss, joy, grief, beauty, or racism, there’s no denying that the contributions of Black poets have irreversibly enriched the literary world.
Amanda Gorman made everyone’s heads turn when she delivered “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021. Born in Los Angeles, Gorman enjoyed reading and writing as a child and was further encouraged by her mother to pursue her passion. Soon, she began writing poetry focused on issues of oppression, feminism, race, marginalization, and the African diaspora. Her first poetry book, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was published in 2015.
Black female poet Wanda Coleman was the “unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles.” Also known as the “L.A. Blueswoman,” the African-American poet received critical acclaim for her remarkably perceptive and creative work. The characters in Coleman’s poetry, prose, and books aim to bring racism, poverty, and social inequalities to light. As she became more active in the L.A. poetry community, Coleman drew inspiration from poets like Henri Coulette, Charles Bukowski, and Diane Wakoski.
Born in Massachusetts and raised in California, Tracy K. Smith served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. Smith also won the Pulitzer Prize for Life on Mars and the James Laughlin Award and the Essense Literary Award for Duende.
Morgan Harper Nichols draws inspiration from everyday conversations and stories to create her art. The Black poet and L.A. native initially started out as a musician and songwriter but eventually shifted her focus to poetry. In 2017, she came up with the idea of writing personalized letters for strangers, with the goal of writing 1 million poems in her lifetime. Harper Nichols’ most popular book is All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living, which is a striking collection of illustrated Black love poems and prose.
Al Young is an African-American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor with an original voice. The Poet Laureate of California has a strong passion for music-namely jazz and blues-which is eminently apparent in his works. His first poetry collection was published in 1969; it was titled Dancing.
Thea Matthews-a Black, Indigenous, Mexican-American poet, scholar, and activist-was destined for greatness. The Black poet’s first collection of poetry, Unearth [The Flowers], depicts a journey through the various stages of grief and healing-all while celebrating life.
Shonda Buchanan first started writing poetry at the age of 8. The mixed Black female poet used words to express how she felt as a young girl. The book showcases Buchanan’s Black-Indian heritage and celebrates her ancestry.
Table of Notable Poets and Their Works
| Poet | Notable Works |
|---|---|
| Maya Angelou | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, And Still I Rise |
| Audre Lorde | The Black Unicorn, Sister Outsider |
| Gwendolyn Brooks | A Street in Bronzeville, Annie Allen |
| Amanda Gorman | The Hill We Climb, Change Sings |
| Tracy K. Smith | Life on Mars, Duende |
| Nikki Giovanni | Black Feeling, Black Talk, Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day |
Black women continue to push the envelope in every single industry. They’re pushing themselves to the forefront of every imaginable field. You can’t talk about poetry without naming women on this list.
