"Evans’ poetic voice helped defined the 1960s Black Arts Movement."
 

Mari Evans
Evans was born on July 16, 1923, in Toledo, Ohio. She attended the University of Toledo.

Over the course of her career Evans has been Distinguished Writer and Assistant Professor, African American and Resource Center, Cornell University, she has taught at Indiana University, the State University of New York at Albany, the University of Miami at Coral Gables and at Spelman College, Atlanta. She is the author of numerous articles, children's books, plays, musicals and books of poetry.

Continuum: New and Selected Poems
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Paperback: 150 pages
Publisher: Black Classic Press (February 28, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1574780387

Continuum: new and selected poems by Mari Evans, is the distinguished poet’s expansive new collection. Unabashedly a poet that writes for and about African people, Evans paints an intimate portrait of the Black experience in the 110 poems shared here. And yet, poetry lovers no matter how they come to the book will find access in this superb assemblage. As Evans states in the preface, “…I try, to recover for us on the page what it means to be human…”

In fact, Evans’ poetic voice helped defined the 1960s Black Arts Movement. A moment in time that brought to fore the work of poets like Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka and Evans with their young Black fiery voices that spoke to the need to make Blackness both beautiful and powerful. In the first of four sections in Continuum are many of the poems written during that period such as the poet’s signature poems “Speak the Truth to the People,” “To Be Born Black,” and “I am a Black Woman”

I am a black woman
the music of my song
some sweet arpeggio of tears
is written in a minor key
and I
can be heard humming in the night

Clarity as Concept: A Poet's Perspective
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Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Third World Press (February 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0883782316

Mari Evans is a poet, musician, educator and lecturer. Now Evans introduces her first full-length collection of essays, Clarity as Concept: A Poet’s Perspective, offering an insightful look into the mind of a poet. Evans’ essays, which span three decades, capture the heart and emotion of an ever-changing society while offering sound proposals for change. With topics ranging from the voice and language of Black people to the politics of American society and culture to the dynamics of the Black family, Evans strikes at the core of what is vital to the Black community, rips it from its rudimentary moorings and elevates it to a level where it is both practical and useful. In the end what is created is a framework for social change and a guideline for productive thought.

I’m Late: The Story of LaNeese and Moonlight and Alisha Who Didn’t Have Anyone of Her Own
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ISBN: 1933491000
Format: Hardcover, 96pp
Pub. Date: September 2005
Publisher: Just Us Books
Age Range:  13-17

LaNeese, 14, slim, pretty, and insecure wants an extra special guy to make her feel extra special too. So she sets her sights on Moonlight, and with him she gets the attention she wants and some things she never expected.

Moonlight, is a 15-year-old-high school football star with NFL dreams. But his one-track mind to sport stardom often prevents him from caring about anything or anyone who could get in the way.

Alisha, 14, overweight and feeling unwanted is looking for someone--anyone--to love who will love her back.

LaNeese, Moonlight and Alisha are three teens looking for attention, popularity, love. What happens when LaNeese and Alisha use their bodies to try to heal their hearts? Master storyteller Mari Evans weaves an honest and gripping tale in this compelling young adult novella that explores the highs, lows and unexpected pitfalls of teen relationships.

Dear Corinne, Tell Somebody!
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ISBN: 0940975815
Format: Hardcover, 64pp
Pub. Date: September 1999
Publisher: Just Us Books
Age Range: 8 to 12

Corinne has changed and has become withdrawn. She doesn't even want to talk. Frustrated, Annie begins to send Corinne letters encouraging her friend to reveal a frightening secret and tell someone who can help. Celebrated black writer and activist, Cornell University Assistant Professor Mari Evans has created a touching story about true friendship and the devastating effects of child abuse.

Singing Black: Alternative Nursery Rhymes for Children
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ISBN: 0940975807
Format: Paperback, 31pp
Pub. Date: May 1998
Publisher: Just Us Books

—Features 32 rhymes for children from a renowned black poet
Nursery rhymes, with their simple words and sing-song rhythms. have enthralled and excited youngsters for centuries. But most of the best-known rhymes reflect a limited Western perspective. Last fall. Just Us Books addressed the need for nursery rhymes that represent the true diversity of a child's world by publishing The Many Colors of Mother Goose. which included nursery rhymes from a multicultural perspective. Now, with Singing Black, they present a collection of original short poems by Marl Evans that draw their inspiration from black culture.

One of the leading members of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s, Evans is one of America's prominent black writers. Her work is widely read and taught in black and women's studies programs. This new version of Singing Black is redesigned and made contemporary for today's children with simple and bold line drawings by Ramon Price, director of the DuSable Museum in Chicago. But Evans's poems are as timeless and fresh as they were when the first edition was released. Their bright images of friendship, family, and fun offer an alternative to traditional nursery rhymes that teaches children, especially black children, to feel good about who they are.

Title:  A Dark & Splendid Mass
Date Published:  September 1992
Format:  Trade Paper

Contains the poems: Modern American Suite in Four Movements, A Lace of Perforations, I Have Not Ceased to Love You, Lee Morgan, Music as Heartbeat and Blood, Lemon-Honey Man, The Catalyst, Amtrak Suite, The Heart as Canvas, Celebration, Ode to My Sons, Eulogy for a Child Whose Parents Prate of Love, Who Is it Will Not Bend?, How Sudden Dies the Blooming, Limited Aggression, Through a Glass, I Am Cut Off from My Memory, A Rock for Sheltering, Let Me Tell You How to Meet the Day, The Nonagenarian, Oral History: Found Poetry, Man Came Knocking, Liberation Blues, Ladies Waiting in the Mall, Rents Due Monday, The Elders, Coda, The Time of Plague Is on Us, A Man without Food, Touch Your Finger to the Wind, On Winning the Gold, Mass Burial, Found Poetry, Alabama Landscape, There Will a Time of Rising, and Save One Bright Jonquil

Title:  Nightstar: 1973-1978
Date Published:  January 1981
Format:  Trade Paper

I Am a Black Woman
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ISBN: 0863163149
Format: Paperback, 160pp
Pub. Date: February 1993
Publisher: Writers & Readers Publishing, Inc

How We Speak
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ISBN: 0883782316
Format: Paperback, 150pp
Pub. Date: January 2003
Publisher: Third World Press

Title:  Singing Black: Alternative Nursery Rhymes for Children
Format:  Trade Paper

From Joyce Rice - Children's Literature:
Kofi is a little boy who is strong, beautiful, fast, and black. Kali is a little girl who learns from her mother about places that she has never seen. Chris has a brother who thinks with his head, while Chris thinks with his fist. These are just some of the people you will meet in this poetry book designed to instill pride of heritage in the African American family. The poems introduce relationships and places with which African American children will identify. The drawings are all done in black and white, and the verses are written so that very early readers will be able to read along with parents. The author released this book in 1978 to present bright images of friendship, family, and to encourage positive self-esteem. It is a welcome addition to the nursery rhyme collection, and would be an excellent addition to the elementary classroom.

Title:  I Look at Me
Author:  Mari Evans,Mike Davis
Publisher:  Third World Press
Date Published:  October 1996
Format:  Trade Paper

Poems by Mari Evans
Poems from http://athena.english.vt.edu/LIT/BWW/reading_index.html

. . . And the Old Women Gathered (The Gospel Singers)
by Mari Evans

and the old women gathered
and sang His praises
standing
resolutely together
like supply sergeants who
have seen
everything
and are still
Regular Army: It
was fierce and
not melodic and
although we ran
the sound of it
stayed in our ears . . .

Where Have You Gone
by Mari Evans

Where have you gone

with your confident
walk with
your crooked smile

why did you leave
me
when you took your
laughter
and departed
are you aware that
with you
went the sun
all light
and what few stars
there were?

where have you gone
with your confident
walk your
crooked smile the
rent money
in one pocket and
my heart
in another . . .

 

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