Frank Carlson Library

Chronicles the life of Dave, a nineteenth-century slave, and a potter, who went on to become an influential poet and artist.

Describes how the twentieth-century African American poet Langston Hughes affirms his vocation as a writer through the composition of his famous 1921 poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."

A biography of African American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. "Before Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize, she was a little girl who dared to dream. Gwendolyn grew up surrounded by fine poetry. From an early age, she memorized the poems her father read to her and soon began to pen her own. Gwendolyn found inspiration all around her: in the colorful clouds overhead; in the people in her neighborhood; in loss, loneliness,...

While competing with Langston Hughes for the title of "Poet Laureate of Harlem," Countée Cullen (1903–46) crafted poems that became touchstones for American readers, both black and white. Inspired by classic themes and working within traditional forms, Cullen shaped his poetry to address universal questions like love, death, longing, and loss while also dealing with the issues of race and idealism that permeated the national conversation. Drawing...

...this writing thing was some kind of magic trick I didn't yet understand... Nikki Grimes discovered the power of writing at the tender age of six, when, along in her room, she poured her fears, anger, and tears onto a piece of paper - and felt sweet relief. Words and faith were her most enduring companions as life flung her headlong from one harrowing experience to the next through her childhood and teenage years. Words, spilled into notebook after...

"An exploration of the life and work of 20th-century American writer Langston Hughes, whose poetry is known for its accounts of the African American experience and its call to racial equality"--

Examines the life of the Harlem poet who spent his career writing about the African-American experience in America.

Presents a biography of the man who has become known as America's "national poet."

The author recalls the year when his farm worker parents settled down in the city so that he could go to school for the first time.