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Tracy K. Smith and Kevin Young
Tracy K. Smith and Kevin Young MULTIPLE Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of four poetry books, including 'Life on Mars', and the upcoming 'Such Color: New and Selected Poems'. She ha...
Yvette Lisa Ndlovu
Yvette Lisa Ndlovu NONE Yvette Lisa Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean storyteller. Her debut short story collection Drinking from Graveyard Wells was selected for the 2021 UPK New Poetry & Prose Series. Yvette ...
Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman
Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman MULTIPLE Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer-winning poet, author of four books, including 'Life on Mars', and editor of 'American Journal'. She served as the US Poet Laureat...
Matthew Shenoda
Matthew Shenoda 0000000045678350 Matthew Shenoda is a writer, professor, and author and editor of several books. His poems and essays have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio progra...
Camryn Garrett
Camryn Garrett 0000000495483219 Camryn Garrett, a New York-based author, started her writing career at 13 and has since been featured on MTV, HuffPost, and Rookie magazine. Selected as one of Teen Vo...
Jean “Binta” Breeze
Jean “Binta” Breeze 0000000025335932 Jean “Binta” Breeze (1956–2021) was a renowned Jamaican poet who published eight books and performed globally. She first gained recognition in 1985 at the Inter...
LaKesa Cox
LaKesa Cox NONE LaKesa Cox is an award-winning author and screenwriter with over 20 years of experience. She has published four novels and has contributed to two anthologies. She was acknowledged as ...
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn Bennett 0000000041133249 Gwendolyn B. Bennett was an influential American artist, writer, and journalist during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1902, she contributed to Opportunity, publish...
Aminatta Forna
Aminatta Forna 0000000123211415 Aminatta Forna, born in Glasgow and raised in Sierra Leone and the UK, is an acclaimed author with works including The Devil that Danced on the Water, Ancestor Stones,...
Andre Seward
Andre Seward NONE Andre Seward, also known as Poetryman7, is a poet who has been writing since 1998. His works are deeply grounded in faith and spirituality, exploring themes of love, grace, and fami...
Carolyn Marie Rodgers
Carolyn Marie Rodgers 0000000066509791 Carolyn Marie Rodgers (1940-2010), a key figure in the Black Arts Movement and co-founder of Third World Press, was born and raised in Chicago. Known for her po...
Ai Ogawa
Ai Ogawa 0000000368573553 Ai Ogawa (1947-2010), born Florence Anthony, was a prominent poet and author awarded with the American Book Award and a National Book Award. She authored seven books of poet...
Haki Madhubuti
Haki Madhubuti 0000000114735014 Haki R. Madhubuti, a leading figure in Black literature, is a poet, publisher, editor, and educator. With over 30 published books and 3 million copies in print, he's o...
ZZ Packer
ZZ Packer 0000000079830912 ZZ Packer is a celebrated writer recognized by Book magazine. A Yale, Johns Hopkins, and University of Iowa alumna, she's acclaimed for her short fiction in her debut colle...
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka 0000000446460520 Amiri Baraka, also known as LeRoi Jones, was a prolific 20th-century African American writer, poet, and Obie-winning playwright. Known for works such as “Blues People” a...
Frederick Joseph
Frederick Joseph 000000011448266X Frederick Joseph, an award-winning marketer and writer, is recognized for his advocacy in media representation. Included in Forbes 30 Under 30, he's also a recipient...
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni 0000000114678830 Nikki Giovanni (June 7, 1943 to December 9, 2024 was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni (June 7, 1943 &n...
Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley 0000000110310916 Tavis Smiley, a prominent African-American voice, is a renowned host and political commentator. Known for his work on BET Tonight and The Tom Joyner Morning Show, he is ...
Anita Bunkley
Anita Bunkley NONE Anita Richmond Bunkley is a highly-acclaimed author and motivational speaker. Overcoming initial rejections, she self-published her first novel and has since written five more, all...
David Barclay Moore
David Barclay Moore NONE Missouri-born David Barclay Moore is a Brooklyn-based writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Known for his debut young adult novel 'The Stars Beneath Our Feet' and his award-wi...
Dionne Brand
Dionne Brand 0000000109071487 “The best poetry jolts and shocks, it mines language for what we have not seen, have not heard.” Dionne Brand is an acclaimed poet and novelist, known for win...
Nelda LaTeef
Nelda LaTeef 000000008348432X Nelda LaTeef is an award-winning author and illustrator, known for acclaimed children's books like Animal Village and The Talking Baobab Tree. Her work has received nume...
Kimberly Drew
Kimberly Drew 0000000495858893 Kimberly Drew is a passionate writer, curator, and activist with a focus on art, fashion, and cultural studies. She's the Social Media Manager at The Met, a board membe...
Stanley G. Robertson
Stanley G. Robertson NONE Stanley G. Robertson is a professor of business and law at DeVry University in Chicago. He is the host and producer of the television show titled, The Ink Spot, on CA...
Ni-Ni Simone
Ni-Ni Simone NONE Ni-Ni Simone, a Jersey-based author, initially unintentional about writing teen fiction, has found success in the genre. Her first novel, “Shortie Like Mine,” was selected by YALSA ...
Sheila Williams
Sheila Williams 0000000498379628 Sheila Williams, an Ohio-born author and University of Louisville graduate, has published five books, including the popular 'Dancing on the Edge of the Roof'. She con...
Gerry Wright
Gerry Wright NONE Gerry Wright is a former professional basketball player and author. After earning All-American honors in high school and playing basketball at the University of Southern California ...
John Riddick, Jr.
John Riddick, Jr. MULTIPLE John Riddick, Jr., editor of Rhapsody in Black, a quarterly literary magazine, showcased selected national writers and artists' talents. This publication aimed to promote d...
Janis F. Kearney
Janis F. Kearney 0000000046272264 Janis F. Kearney is a celebrated author, journalist, and publisher. Known for her role as a personal diarist to President Clinton, Kearney has made significant contr...
Ben Jealous
Ben Jealous 0000000417015073 Benjamin Todd Jealous is a notable American civil rights leader and social impact investor. He was the youngest-ever national leader of the NAACP (2008-2013) and ran for ...
Chantal James
Chantal James NONE Chantal James is a poet, fiction writer, essayist, and book reviewer. Honors include a Fulbright Fellowship in creative writing to Morocco and a finalist position for the Alex Albr...
Brenda Marie Osbey
Brenda Marie Osbey 000000002513556X Brenda Marie Osbey, born in 1957, is a distinguished poet from New Orleans who served as Louisiana's Poet Laureate from 2005-2007. She specializes in Afro-Francoph...
Laban Carrick Hill
Laban Carrick Hill NONE Laban Carrick Hill (1960 – 2021) has written two young adult novels: A Brush with Napoleon, based on the life of the French Romantic painter David, and Casa Azul, based...
Jon B. Eckels
Jon B. Eckels NONE Jon B. Eckels (1929-2014) was an acclaimed poet, essayist, activist, and teacher. Renowned for his 14 volumes of poetry, he won an American Book Award and made significant contribu...
Electa Rome Parks
Electa Rome Parks NONE Electa Rome Parks is a successful self-published author known for best-selling novels like The Ties That Bind and Loose Ends. After initially self-publishing through her own co...
Omotara James
Omotara James NONE Omotara James is a writer, editor, and visual artist. She is the author of the chapbook Daughter Tongue, selected by the African Poetry Book Fund, in collaboration with Akashic Bo...
Kelly Harris-DeBerry
Kelly Harris-DeBerry NONE Kelly Harris-DeBerry is an award-winning poet and the author of Freedom Knows My Name. Known for her gift to bring poems to life by using her voice as an instrument, audienc...
Angelina Weld Grimké
Angelina Weld Grimké 0000000110713205 Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958) was an accomplished American journalist, teacher, playwright, and poet. Notably, she was one of the first Black American women ...
Alberto O. Cappas
Alberto O. Cappas NONE Alberto O. Cappas, a Puerto Rican-born poet, writer, and community activist, is known for his work in economic development, literature, and advocacy in New York and Buffalo. He...
Mary-Alice Daniel
Mary-Alice Daniel NONE Mary-Alice Daniel is a Yale-educated poet recognized by Poet Laureate Louise Glück. With an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan, her work appears in variou...
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor 0000000038283932 Trinidad-born, Queens-bred Cheryl Boyce Taylor is a celebrated poet and visual artist. She's authored several poetry collections, received the Partners in Writing...
Etheridge Knight
Etheridge Knight 0000000066439498 Etheridge Knight, born on April 19, 1931, was a renowned poet who began writing while incarcerated and published his notable collection, Poems from Prison, in 1968. ...
Camille T. Dungy
Camille T. Dungy 0000000036407735 Camille T. Dungy, renowned poet and essayist, is known for her work in 100 Best African American Poems and 30 other anthologies. She's a recipient of multiple awards...
Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis 0000000037536993 Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) was a renowned poet known for four volumes including 'Black Man's Verse' & '47th Street: Poems'. His works were later edited by ...
Cornelius Eady
Cornelius Eady 0000000025783225 Cornelius Eady is a renowned poet and author of eight books, including award-winning “Victims of the Latest Dance Craze.” He co-founded the Cave Canem workshop for Afr...
Gerren Liles
Gerren Liles NONE Gerren Liles, a Morgan State University graduate and poet, uses his work to promote literacy and self-empowerment among black youth. A finalist for MTV's Real World: Hawaii, his poe...
Jackie Kay
Jackie Kay 0000000108753136 Jacqueline Margaret Kay is a celebrated author and former National Poet of Scotland known for her memoir Red Dust Road and various acclaimed poetry collections. Her first ...
Roberto Carlos Garcia
Roberto Carlos Garcia NONE Roberto Carlos Garcia is associate professor of English at Union College of Union County NJ. He writes poetry and prose about the Afro-Latinx and Afro-Diasporic experience...
Pamela Sneed
Pamela Sneed 0000000035258600 Pamela Sneed is a New York-based poet, writer, and actress, featured in prestigious publications and has performed globally. She's included in “The 100 Best African Amer...
Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman 0000000116780476 “I have yet to kill anyone—I have exhibited great restraint.” Wanda Coleman (1946-2013) was a renowned poet, former medical secretary, magazine editor,...
Jerome Lagarrigue
Jerome Lagarrigue 0000000403502938 Jerome Lagarrigue, a Paris-raised artist, moved to the US in 1992 and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. He has won prestigious awards including the Core...
Gloria Oden
Gloria Oden 0000000382838642 Gloria Catherine Oden (1923-2011) was a renowned poet, editor, and English professor from New York. A Pulitzer Prize nominee for her poetry collection 'Resurrections', sh...
Adrian Matejka
Adrian Matejka 0000000037525872 Adrian Matejka is a Germany-born, Indiana-based author and educator. A graduate of Indiana University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he has penned award-...
Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor 0000000395906544 Trinidad-born poet, Mervyn Taylor, divides his time between Brooklyn and Trinidad. A teacher at several institutions, he's known for his five poetry books including awa...
Kem Joy Ukwu
Kem Joy Ukwu NONE Kem Joy Ukwu is a Bronx-born author, currently based in New Jersey. Her fiction has been featured in various magazines and her short story collection, Locked Gray / Linked Blue, was...
Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte 0000000083980729 “My skin causes certain problems continuously, problems that open the issue of racism over and over like a wound.” Toi Derricotte is an award-winning poet a...
Charles R. Smith Jr.
Charles R. Smith Jr. NONE Charles R. Smith Jr. is an acclaimed author, poet, and photographer with over 30 books. He's a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and Honor Author Aw...
Roxane Orgill
Roxane Orgill NONE Roxane Orgill is a seasoned music critic and author with over 20 years of experience, having worked with The Wall Street Journal and The Milwaukee Journal. She is known for her bio...
Sharon M. Draper
Sharon M. Draper 0000000374578086 Sharon M. Draper, acclaimed author of the Sassy series and numerous teen novels, is a New York Times bestseller and multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner. A forme...
R. Gregory Christie
R. Gregory Christie 000000011492849X R. Gregory Christie is a seasoned commercial artist with over 20 years of experience. He's illustrated 50+ children's books, designed album covers and worked with...
Clarence Nero
Clarence Nero NONE Clarence Nero, a native of New Orleans's Ninth Ward, is a Howard University graduate and former forensic chemist. Known for his debut novel, Cheekie: A Child Out of the Desire, bas...
Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rachel Eliza Griffiths 0000000527846142 Rachel Eliza Griffiths, a poet, photographer, and creative writing teacher, is renowned for her literary portraits, fine art photography, and lyric videos. She...
Kevin Young
Kevin Young 0000000109530225 Kevin Young, born in 1970, is a renowned poet and teacher influenced by Hughes, Berryman, Dickinson, and Basquiat. A Harvard graduate, Young authored multiple poetry book...
Casey Gerald
Casey Gerald NONE Casey Gerald is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, a memoir that was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR and The New York Times, a finalist for the LAMBDA Literary Award, a...
Truth Thomas
Truth Thomas NONE Truth Thomas, born in Knoxville and raised in Washington DC, is an award-winning poet and singer-songwriter. He has authored four poetry collections including Speak Water, winner of...
Lucille Clifton
Lucille Clifton 0000000117802788 Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was a distinguished poet and professor, notable as the first African American woman to win the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. She also won the N...
Mari Evans
Mari Evans 0000000108875002 Mari Evans, born July 16, 1919, was a significant figure in the 1960s Black Arts Movement. She was a distinguished writer and educator, teaching at institutions like Corne...
Noah Davis
Noah Davis 0000000403317062 Noah Davis, a Pennsylvania native, is a renowned author specializing in poems and prose about the Allegheny Front. His work has featured in numerous publications and his f...
aja monet
aja monet 0000000370068724 aja monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She won the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam poetry award title i...
Bernardo Wade
Bernardo Wade NONE Born & raised in New Orleans, Bernardo Wade tries at poems, catches elbows on the court, wanders around the Bay—occasionally on Stanford’s campus as a Wallace Stegner Fellow. ...
Patty Pinner
Patty Pinner NONE Patty Pinne is an acclaimed author known for her cookbook, 'Sweets: A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories', recognized as one of the year's best by The New York Times and ...
Van Whitfield
Van Whitfield 000000004215157X Van Whitfield, an acclaimed novelist, rose to fame with his debut book, “Beeperless Remote,” earning him 6 Ben Franklin Award nominations. Despite initial struggles wit...
Edward Kelsey Moore
Edward Kelsey Moore 0000000376833028 Edward Kelsey Moore is a renowned author and cellist based in Chicago. His debut novel was a NY Times bestseller and his short fiction has gained recognition, par...
C. Kelly Robinson
C. Kelly Robinson NONE C. Kelly Robinson is a Howard and Washington University graduate, who self-published his first novel, “Not All Dogs,” in 1999. The book was re-released in 2001 as “Between Brot...
Elizabeth Nunez
Elizabeth Nunez 0000000080832288 Elizabeth Nunez, a Trinidad-born, award-winning author, wrote ten novels and a memoir, with several recognized by the New York Times and Oprah's book club. Her works,...
Brenda Lane Richardson
Brenda Lane Richardson NONE Brenda Lane Richardson is an award-winning author and trained minister known for her books like Story Power, Chesapeake Song and more. A former Oakland Tribune columnist, ...
Dexter Palmer
Dexter Palmer 0000000040043719 Dexter Clarence Palmer, a Princeton-based author, is known for his acclaimed debut novel, 'The Dream of Perpetual Motion'. His second novel, 'Version Control', was publ...
Khalil G. Muhammad
Khalil G. Muhammad 0000000119521226 Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, former director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, is a renowned historian, author, and scholar. He has held positi...
Olatunde Osinaike
Olatunde Osinaike NONE Olatunde Osinaike is a Nigerian American poet and software developer from Chicago. He won the 2019 Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize and is the author of Tender Headed, a 2022 Natio...
Natasha S. Alford
Natasha S. Alford NONE Natasha S. Alford is a celebrated journalist and digital host known for her impactful reporting on politics, culture, and social issues. She's a Harvard graduate and an Emmy aw...
Paule Marshall
Paule Marshall 0000000110812465 Watch a Powerful Tribute to Paule Marshall and John A. Williams Paule Marshall, born Valenza Pauline Burke, was a renowned author and educator. She was selected by Lang...
Ayokunle Falomo
Ayokunle Falomo NONE Ayokunle Falomo is Nigerian, American, and the author of Autobiomythography Of (Alice James Books, 2024), Africanamerican’t (FlowerSong Press, 2022), two self-published collecti...
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez 0000000080885435 Sonia Sanchez (b. 1934) is a significant figure in the Black Arts Movement, known for her innovative and original poetry that explores racial and gender struggles. Her ...
Dianne Ochiltree
Dianne Ochiltree NONE Dianne Ochiltree is a nationally recognized author, writing for children of all ages. Her work, ranging from stories to poems, has been translated into multiple formats includin...
Princess F.L. Gooden
Princess F.L. Gooden NONE Born and raised in Atlanta, Princess F. L. Gooden is a gifted writer, poet, and dramatist. She started writing at a young age, and by 13, she had written and directed plays ...
Jen Bryant
Jen Bryant 0000000067561735 Jen Bryant is an award-winning author of picture books, novels, and poems for all ages. Her accolades include two Caldecott Honors, two ALA Schneider Family Book Awards, a...
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley NONE Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, a Chicago native, nurtured her love for writing from a young age. She began publishing poetry in high school and honed her craft at Harvard U...
Patricia Hubbell
Patricia Hubbell 0000000084277955 Patricia Hubbell, a celebrated children's author, has written numerous award-winning books and poems over her four-decade career. Her work features in over 200 antho...
Teri Ellen Cross Davis
Teri Ellen Cross Davis NONE Teri Ellen Cross Davis, award-winning author of 'Haint: poems', is a Cave Canem Fellow and Poetry Coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Teri Ell...
Sherley Anne Williams
Sherley Anne Williams 0000000114970321 Sherley Anne Williams was an influential poet, novelist, and professor known for her works portraying her experiences within the African-American community. Bor...
Carolyn Joyner
Carolyn Joyner NONE Carolyn Joyner is a dedicated poet with a divine mission to inspire through themes of politics, love, and spirituality. Her performances span from Washington, DC to Chicago and En...
Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott 0000000114709596 Winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature Walcott, won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1992). The motivation for the Prize was, “…for a poetic oeuvre of great lumino...
Michelle D. Rayford
Michelle D. Rayford NONE Author Michelle D. Rayford, winner of a fifth-grade literacy contest, nurtured her passion for writing through years of education, a government job, marriage, and motherhood....
George Moses Horton
George Moses Horton 000000006316904X George Moses Horton (1798–1884) was the first African American poet to be published in the Southern US, while still enslaved. His notable works include “The Hop...
Anna Christian
Anna Christian NONE Anna Christian is an accomplished author of seven books, including 'Then Sings My Soul' and 'Daniel’s Wife'. She has made contributions to the African American National Biography ...
Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez 0000000080983190 Jayne Cortez (1936-2012) was a celebrated poet and performance artist, known for her political and surrealistic lyricism. She authored eleven books of poetry and present...
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence MULTIPLE The Spence family, consisting of Joseph, Sheila, and Jonathan, use poetry and various other forms of artistic...
Yolanda T. Marshall
Yolanda T. Marshall NONE Yolanda T. Marshall, born in Guyana, is a writer and manager for Canada's largest Academic Publishing Company. With a passion for guitar and poetry, she published her first b...
Kwesi Oginga
Kwesi Oginga NONE Kwesi Oginga, born in Guyana, is a renowned dramatist, author, and pastor. He wrote plays for Guyana's top festivals, directed plays for the president's birthday, and has penned sev...
Alexander Andrews
Alexander Andrews 0000000063097189 Alexander Andrews, a critically acclaimed poet of diverse heritage, is known for exploring themes of love, childhood, and environmental stress. His highly-rated deb...