African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Author Pages: Bios and Full Text Collections

Below are author profiles with links to works included in this anthology. This is a work in progress; we are steadily researching the authors listed below,and will continue to add author profiles.  

One of the central goals of this Anthoogy is to help readers explore the richness of African American poetry, including authors who are no longer well-known. Alongside building on the long tradition of scholarship in African American literary history, we are using resources on the web, including census data, school and university records, and any other sources that are available to learn more about the lives and careers of these writers. If any readers have helpful information about the poets listed below that they would like to share with us, we would be grateful for any help; please use our Response Form.

A number of important African American writers presently have no dedicated Wikipedia entries. In summer 2022, noting the omission of Otto Bohanan from Wikiepdia, we worked with a team of editors to create a rudimentary entry based on our own research here. Other significant African American poets who currently have no Wikipedia pages are Charles Frederick White, Sergeant Chester J. Westfield, and Edward S. Silvera. 

Note: the list below may not a complete account of all authors whose writings may appear on this site. If you're looking for a particular writer or poem, try the search bar located on the black navigation bar at the top of the page. (On a mobile device, click on the 'hamburger' menu, then click search)