With February being Black History Month, it’s important to reflect on and appreciate the rich cultural history that exists within creative writing and literature as a result of Black folk’s contributions. This week, the excitement of Valentine’s Day surges in with candy, roses and hearts all around. After that’s over, some might be left feeling a bit empty or even jaded. While
Valentine’s Day is a mere social construct, the celebration of Black history should be eternal, and from a reader’s point of view, there’s no better way to engage with that legacy than to read up on some poetry rooted in Black resistance, excellence, perspectives and love. For those who’d rather spend some time reading this month, here are some poets and collections that deserve some love for the ways they’ve shaped American literature.
Audre Lorde
Lorde was a lesbian Black feminist, writer and civil rights activist who was born on Feb. 18, 1934. Lorde’s contributions to American poetry, the establishment of gender and sexuality studies, the development of the theory of intersectionality and Black studies are unmatched. While her essays are more often taught in higher education courses, like selections from “Sister Outsider” and “The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House,” her poetry is just as influential. Her most popular collections include “The First Cities,” “Cables to Rage” and “From a Land Where Other People Live.”
Gwendolyn Brooks
Brooks was the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950, and she is revered today as a hallmark of twentieth-century American poetry. Brooks often wrote about her Black urban experience, as she grew up in Chicago. A defining characteristic of her poetry is the love and attention to detail that radiates for her community. Some of her poems that deserve to be on February’s reading list include “An Aspect of Love, Alive in the Ice and Fire,” “We Real Cool,” “The Lovers of the Poor” and “a song in the front yard.”
Nikki Giovanni
Giovanni was well-loved during the 1960s and 1970s for her captivating poetry readings, often drawing crowds around her. Her works were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, and she also sought to uplift Black writers and artists around her, which enabled her to write about Black joy. Some of her best pieces of poetry include “The Laws of Motion,” “Dreams” and “BLK History Month.”
Claudia Rankine
Rankine is a contemporary poet, whose collections have all won major poetry awards – and rightfully so. She is a master of modern lyric poetry, which is best read through her collections “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric,” published in 2004, and “Citizen: An American Lyric,” published in 2014. Her style merges prose and poetry, which are used as catalysts to explore the construction of identity and race in modern society. Out of all of the poets on this list, Rankine’s style is the most experimental, so it’s best to approach her work with an open mind — in the end, poetry is meant to make the reader’s world a little bit bigger.
