Books Honored by the National Book Foundation

National Book Award Medals

The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America. National Book Awards are given five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.

Here we highlight the winners of African descent. The first African-American writer to win a National Book Award was Ralph Ellison, in 1953, for Invisible Man.

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One Book Honored by the National Book Foundation in 1979

Finalist - Poetry

American Journal: Poems
by Robert Hayden

    Publication Date: Jan 17, 1982
    List Price: $14.95
    Format: Paperback, 72 pages
    Classification: Poetry
    ISBN13: 9780871401274
    Imprint: Liveright
    Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
    Parent Company: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

    Read a Description of American Journal: Poems