Found 35 collections related to African American poets

The Harlem Writers Guild was established in 1950 and is the oldest organization of African-American writers in the United States. Originally founded as the Harlem Writers Club by John Henrik Clarke, Rosa Guy and John Oliver Killens, it was created as a forum for emerging African-American writers in New York City who felt alienated from the white literary mainstream. The Guild helped nurture African-American literary talent since its inception. Prominent members include Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Terry McMillan, and Louise Meriwether. The Harlem Writers Guild Press was established in 2000 as an imprint to publish the literary works of its members. The Harlem Writers Guild Records collection consists of the work of two Guild members, Grace F. Edwards and K.C. Washington. The collection contains nine manuscripts of published books and unpublished material, including three annotated manuscripts, spanning circa 1998 to 2009. Edwards is the author of the popular Mali Anderson Mystery series. The collection contains three annotated manuscripts: A Toast Before Dying (1998), Do or Die (2000), and The Viaduct (2003). It also includes the manuscript for No Time to Die (The Cereal/Serial Killer) (1999). The collection also includes a manuscript of Washington's debut novel Mourning Becomes Her, which was first published by Harlem Writers Guild Press in 2006, as well as two unpublished manuscripts: "Beauty" (2009) and "Mad River" (2000-2005). less

Amiri Baraka's collection of unpublished poetry consists of over two hundred poems, which, according to Baraka, were written between 1959 and 1965. With the exception of three poems, all are unpublished. Most items bear holograph corrections, changes, and deletions, and most are short poems of one page in length. Included in the collection is a four-page bibliography compiled by the author containing entries not noted in other publications. Additionally, there is a six-page manuscript entitled "Uncle Tom's Cabin: An Alternate Ending". less

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

The Wallace Bass Boyd collection is comprised of forty-seven journals, biographical accounts and geographical descriptions of Black life in the South, as well as drafts of his writings from 1985-2007. The journals primarily capture Boyd's day-to-day experiences spanning across his undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate years. Four of the forty-seven journals are written to family members and aspiring artists. Notations about art and his artistic practice can also be found throughout the collection. less

This collection includes Witherspoon's published and unpublished poetry, including his best known works: An American Haiku Novel and On the Stair, both in his signature style of linked-haiku or renga. A travel journal kept in Africa, a critique of the Kenyan educational system, a play about the Black hijacker of a bus, an educational program report, various printed material, notebooks, and miscellaneous correspondence complete the collection. less

The Craig G. Harris Papers, 1986-1993, document his life as a gay, HIV-positive African-American, his work as an AIDS activist, and his prolific writing career. The collection consists of biographical information, personal correspondence, obituaries and memorial material, as well as original manuscripts of his speeches, essays, articles and poems. 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

Gary Batson is a playwright. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, and two Masters of Arts degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University in education and communications. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Education Administration from the University of Maryland. In the 1980s, Batson was a member of the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop and involved with the Negro Ensemble Company. His plays have been produced at a variety of theaters in New York City, Westchester County, and Rockland County; a few were directed by Arnold Beauchamp. In 2008, he co-founded the Mount Vernon Theater Company in New York, now known as Phoenix Arts, for which he is the Executive Producer. Additionally, Batson has published fiction and poetry, and he was a news reporter and editor. He currently teaches writing at Touro College, and he is a public relations consultant with Batson Communications. The Gary Batson collection consists principally of eight playscripts of his produced plays, written between 2004 and 2011. All except "A Fact of Matta" were produced. Announcements and news clippings discuss the plays productions. Also included are "Flawless: A Collection of Love Poems" (2007) and Batson's curriculum vitae. 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

Born Yves Francois Lubin in Haiti in 1957, Assotto Saint was a New York-based gay activist, poet, and performance artist who edited two anthologies of black gay poets in the early 1990s. He founded a publishing house, Galiens Press, which published his book of poems Stations and the anthologies Here to Dare and The Road Before Us. In addition, Saint also wrote and produced several theater pieces, including Risin' to the Love We Need and New Love Song. Saint was the founder and artistic director of Metamorphosis Theater and the lead singer of the rock band Xotica. He died of HIV-related diseases in 1994. The Assotto Saint papers consist of correspondence and writings by Saint, manuscripts and letters from authors featured in his anthologies as well as other gay writers, printed matter, and some personal papers. less

The collection contains poems recited in the film, contracts, newspaper ad layouts, advertisements, press releases, a press kit, foreign correspondence regarding theater inquiries, national and international reviews of the film, articles about the cast members and legal documents relating to the suit brought by Hassan, et al. less

Collection of research materials compiled by Sr. Mary Margaret, F.S.S.J., in preparation of her master's thesis on Countee Cullen and his work. The thesis was submitted to the English Department of St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, New York. The collection consists primarily of research materials, but includes letters to Sr. M. Margaret (1952-1961), including letters from Ida Cullen, Harold Jackman, and W.S. Braithwaite, and three incomplete copies of the thesis. less

Jeremy Randolph was an African American actor, poet, playwright, and founder of two independent publishing houses, Rannick Playwrights Company and Amuru Press. The Jeremy Randolph papers primarily document the activities of Randolph's small, independent black publishing company, Amuru Press, during the brief period from 1972 to 1974. 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

Clement L. Browne worked in the Personnel Office of the American Car Foundry in Brooklyn, New York, from the 1920s until his retirement in 1970. After completing his high school education, he attended a training school in New York to study drafting, but did not complete the curriculum. He also wrote poetry. The Clement L. Browne literary collection consists of manuscripts, some handwritten, and mimeographed copies of poems written by Browne. Some poems concern civil rights, but most are personal in nature. The poems are unpublished. Poem titles include "Musing" and "Conceit". Also included are a photograph of Browne, presumably, with another man; a letter from Marian Anderson; and a newsletter from the Brevard Poetry Club. less

Born in 1935 in Mexico of West Indian parents, André Emilé Begeleus lived much of his adult life in New York City and worked in education, including as an education assistant at IS 201 in Harlem. He also wrote poems, essays, short novels, and other literary works. In 1975, he published a book of poetry, We Are Betrayed and Other Poems. Begeleus died in 1978. The André Emilé Begeleus literary collection (1967-1974) consists of unedited handwritten and typescript drafts of poems, essays, short stories, and a short novel. His writings express his views about the survival of African Americans in the 1970s. Eight of his handwritten poems were published in his volume of poetry. 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

The Melvin Dixon papers consist primarily of manuscripts, correspondence, notes, and journals reflecting his experiences as a black gay writer. Most of the collection is comprised of manuscript drafts of Dixon's published works "Trouble the Water," "Vanishing Rooms," "Ride Out the Wilderness," "Change of Territory," as well as drafts for incomplete novels and stories, the fiction he called "works in progress," and short stories, poetry and plays, both published and unpublished. In addition, there are drafts and other material for Dixon's translations of "The Collected Poetry by Leopold Sedar Senghor," Genevieve Fabre's "Drumbeats, Masks and Metaphors," and works by the Haitian writer Jacques Roumain. Some essays and academic papers he presented are also included in collection. 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 Djola Branner papers, 1983-2010, document his personal life and professional career as a writer, poet, dancer, choreographer, actor, and educator. The collection reflects how his identity and experiences as a gay Black man informed much of his creative work. less