Found 2 collections related to African American poets -- New York (State) -- New York

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

Colin Robinson (1961-2021) was a Black gay Trinidadian poet and HIV/AIDS activist who moved to New York City in 1981. He was a member of the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), the New York State Black Gay Network (NYSBGN), and Caribbean Pride. The Colin Robinson papers, dated from 1972 to 2020, chronicle Robinson's dual careers as a poet and an activist through correspondence, meeting minutes, handwritten and typed poetry drafts, fliers and other ephemera, clippings, and LGBT+ publications. less