54 Black Poets You Should Know
Past, Current & Future
Poems are written for many different reasons. I always say poetry is two things: divine inspiration, and a desperate attempt to explain the complex world we live in. Black poetry has always been a method to express the emotions that society says to keep silent, ignore, and most often invalidate. For this reason, it was necessary to distinguish black poetry from conventional American poetry. It was a way for those voices to be heard. It was not a means of separation, but rather identification. It allows others to find these particular poets!
If the poet has written the poem, it is only right that there is someone there to connect with it. Consider the poetic words of the poet, take a moment to feel what it's like to have someone express on paper or vocally exactly what your experience is. Poetry is the voice that heals. It is not the thief in the night but rather a deep restful sleep. Poetry is a comforter! Black poetry is a story of unique experience, walk of faith, and the spiritual person in the temporary body of black skin. Not as if black skin is bad, but the experience is just a different and unique one.
I have listed 54 black poets that you should know. If you feel I have left someone out please let me know in the comment section. It is a human oversight and I would be honored to add to the list.
Well Known Poets
- Langston Hughes
- James Baldwin
- Nikki Giovanni
- Alice Walker
- Audre Lorde
- Maya Angelou
- Gil Scott-Heron
- Sister Souljah
- Gwendolyn Brooks
- Sonia Sanchez
- Tracy K. Smith
- Yusef Komunyakaa
- Robert Hayden
- Amiri Baraka
- Rita Dove
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- James A. Emanuel
- Yusef Komunyakaa
- Phillis Wheatley
- Benjamin Banneker
- James Monroe Whitfield
- George Moses Horton
- Last Poets - Abiodun Oyewole, Baba Donn Babatunde, and Umar Bin Hassan
- Cornelius Lady
- James Weldon John
- Elizabeth Alexander
- Dudley Randal
- Haki Madhubuti
- Danez Smith
- Arna Bontemps
- June jordan
- Margert Walker
- Micheal S. Harper
- Nikky Finney
- Frances Harper
- Melvin B. Tolson
- Evie Shockley
- Quincy Thorpe
- Jessie Redmon Fauset
- Jill Scott
- Lauryn Hill
- Tupac Shakur
12 Emerging African American Black Poets You Should Know
- fort.claire on instagram
- conscious_blvckroseWarsan Shire
- Prince Ea - Richard Williams
- Terry Moore - aka T Mo
- Nayyirah Waheed
- Yrsa Daley-Ward
- Key Ballah
- Ladan Osmanm
- Black Poets of Tumblr
- Monseeka on instagram
- rhosegarden on instagram
- Leah Islar on instagram