Found 3 collections related to African American women poets -- 20th century

Cheryl Clarke is a Black lesbian poet, writer, critic, scholar, and activist. This collection is a testament to her life's work as a Black, lesbian, feminist activist and demonstrates her commitment to promoting Black lesbian visibility and voices through writing as activism. less

Bernadine Oliver wrote poetry of which a sampling and some essays were published in two volumes: It Begins Softly (1980) and Seeds of Ourselves (1984) by Women for Racial and Economic Equality. Oliver was a founding member of the New York chapter of this organization. She was also published in an anthology, Leaving the Bough: 50 American Poets of the 80s (1982). Oliver studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1979 after she was stricken with multiple sclerosis in 1974 at the age of twenty-four. The Bernadine Oliver papers consist of handwritten, typed and published poems, prose, and sketches and drawings. Oliver's poems speak of life and its trials of personal and social injustices for working people, the unemployed and the young, as well as growth and change, and hope for the future. There are also a few letters, information regarding her memorial service, some biographical material, and notes. less

The Maya Angelou papers documents the literary career and personal life of poet and memoirist Maya Angelou (1928-2014) through her writings of autobiographies, essays, and poetry and children's books. The collection holds correspondence, manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, notes, financial and legal documents, and printed matter. less