Found 15 collections related to African American poets

Charles Anthony Frye (1946-1994) was an early proponent of Black studies and taught philosophy, religion, and literature, and he was a published novelist and poet. The Charles A. Frye papers, 1964-1995, reflect the teaching and writer career of this professor of African and African American philosophy, religion, and literature. less

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional correspondence, teaching files, printed matter, and materials from public and academic appearances and engagements. less

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was the premiere African American writer and public intellectual of the post-War period. He authored six novels, three plays, dozens of short stories, a book-length work of non-fiction, a children's book, scores of essays and reviews, and a book of poems. Baldwin won renown in the U.S. and internationally for his writing, his leadership in the civil rights movement, and for championing human rights around the world. His essays and reviews, especially, are remarkable not just for their mastery of literary technique - their marriage of music and sharp analysis - but for the breadth of the African American experience which they interpret, dramatize, honor, and lament. These prose masterpieces are unique in the history of American literature for the depth, subtlety, and daring with which they explore the psycho-political causes and consequences of racism and other ideologies of political exploitation. His best known works include Go Tell It on the Mountain(1953), Notes of a Native Son(1955), Giovanni's Room(1956), The Fire Next Time(1963), and If Beale Street Could Talk(1974). "Five Years" is an 18-page typescript of sixteen unpublished poems (the last two being carbons) written by Baldwin between 1942 and 1948 prior to the publication of his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain. The poems, which are dated, explore themes of love, fear and mortality, lifelong preoccupations of the author best known for his insightful essays and probing fiction. less

Aubrey Howard Bowser was a writer, editor, and educator. Bowser was born in La Mott, Pennsylvania, a town founded by African American Civil War veterans that were led by his grandfather. He was a 1907 graduate of Harvard College, and later worked at the New York Age where he met and subsequently married Jessie Fortune, the daughter of T. Thomas Fortune, editor of the Age. Bowser's writings included book reviews and literary criticism for the New York Amsterdam News; poetry; and an unpublished novel entitled "Black Pilgrim: A Novel of Harlem's Early Life". Bowser also taught in the New York City public schools, including at New York Vocational High School, eventually becoming dean of that school. He died in 1979. The Aubrey Howard Bowser papers consist primarily of writings, academic and school related papers, and letters. Bower's writings include a manuscript for "Black Pilgrim: A Novel of Harlem's Early Life"; a short story, "Maryelle Rose"; poetry; book reviews; and critiques. There are also two full runs of The Rainbow, a weekly literary magazine that he edited, 1919-1920. Academic papers consist of a Harvard College notebook; course lecture notes; papers written for courses taken for his Master's degree and to qualify for a New York City high school teacher's license, 1943; and the publication, "Harvard College Class of 1907 Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Report" (1935) in which his picture appears. Included are T. Thomas Fortune's book of poetry, Dreams of Life (1905). less

Kenneth P. Neilson is an educator, artist, composer, author, and founder of All Seasons Art, a multimedia production center which seeks to gain exposure for developing African American and Hispanic artists. The Hughes-Neilson music collection consists of musical settings of the poetry and lyrics of Langston Hughes. less

David Bryant Fulton was a poet, journalist, and novelist who often published under his pseudonym, Jack Thorne. Born in North Carolina in 1863, Fulton moved to New York in 1887 and joined the Pullman Palace Car Company as a porter in 1888. In 1892, Fulton published a pamphlet entitled Recollections of a Sleeping Car Porter, under his pseudonym. He also authored a novel, Hanover, or the Persecution of the Lowly (1900), concerning violent racial conflict in the South during that period. Between 1903 and 1906, Fulton gained prominence in Brooklyn for his letters and articles in New York City newspapers. After 1907, Fulton wrote poetry, essays, and short stories; most remained unpublished. The David Bryant Fulton collection consists of his writings and two biographical sketches. The writings include poems, a manuscript of a novel, and short stories. There are also manuscripts for two short stories entitled "Cumberland" and "The Red Rosary". The biographical sketches were written by Eures Hunter, and William Andrews. There is also correspondence between Andrews and Mrs. Fulton (1973). less

Composer, pianist, arranger. Brown worked as Paul Robeson's accompanist for thirty-eight years. The Lawrence Brown papers encompass correspondence reflecting Brown's wide-ranging travels, and his friendships (mostly letters written by his friends and business associates); personal papers; travel file consisting mostly of itineraries for tours; financial records comprised largely of royalty and earnings statements; programs for Brown and other artists; scrapbooks of news clippings and telegrams covering the Brown and Paul Robeson concert years (1928-1968); news clippings of concert reviews; and original scores and sheet music written by Brown and other composers. Papers relate to Brown's life and times, including World War I, Harlem Renaissance, World War II, spirituals, and his collaborator, Paul Robeson. Correspondents include Amanda Aldridge, Ethel Gardner Dingle, Jannett Hamlyn, Roland Hayes, Langston Hughes, Zaidee Jackson, William Lawrence, John Payne, Paul and Eslanda Robeson, Clara Rockmore, Robert Rockmore, Mrs. Corinne Sawyer (Brown's landlady), and Greta and I. W. Sequeira. less

William Hairston was an actor, writer, director, producer and administrator. The collection contains biographical information about Hairston; correspondence; manuscripts for books, playscripts, musicals, poetry, comedy writing, television and film; and scrapbooks. less

This collection consists of original documents and correspondence related to the Horne family, assembled by Gail Lumet Buckley during the research and writing of her book The Hornes: An American Family (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986). Included are articles, programs, awards, memorabilia, business correspondence and papers, financial data, and other printed material pertaining to the careers of singer Lena Horne; her uncle, Frank S. Horne, a member of the Roosevelt "Black cabinet" and poet; and other members of the extended family. less

The Owen Dodson collection consists principally of printed matter describing Dodson's career as a poet, playwright, and novelist. There are programs, obituaries and a memorial, a few of his poems, and an extensive bibliography. Additionally, the collection contains a handwritten poem (ca. 1940s), postcards written to his friend Sol Gordon, court documents, and correspondence regarding Dodson's estate and his will. less

The Helen Armstead-Johnson miscellaneous theater collections (HAJMTC) were formed by over two hundred file-folder level collections (one-three file folders per personality or event). The collections contain information dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, and they document early dramatic actors, minstrel shows, vaudeville, musical revues, Broadway productions, and protest dramas, among others. In addition to actors, playwrights, singers, musicians, and dancers and the productions in which they appeared, there are collections for poets and visual artists. less

The Larry Neal papers document his role as a writer/editor and seminal figure in the Black Arts Movement, and consist principally of Neal's diverse forms of writings, including essays, scripts, screenplays, poems, short stories, and anthologies. Published copies of some of his writings are included in the collection, as are writings by colleagues and publishers. less