African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Joan R. Sherman (Editor), James Madison Bell (Contributor), Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (Contributor), Charlotte L. Forten Grimké (Contributor), George Moses Horton (Contributor), Langston Hughes (Contributor), Phillis Wheatley Peters (Contributor), Joshua McCarter Simpson (Contributor), Alfred Islay Walden (Contributor), James Monroe Whitfield (Contributor)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Dover Thrift Editions

Rich selection of 74 poems ranging from the religious and moral verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters (ca. 1753–1784) to 20th-century work of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Other contributors include James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, many others. Indispensable for students of the black experience in America and any lover of fine poetry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Poem Entitled The Day And The War, Sels by James Madison Bell
De Cunjah Man by James Edwin Campbell
Mors Et Vita by James Edwin Campbell
Ol' Doc' Hyar by James Edwin Campbell
'sciplinin' Sister Brown by James Edwin Campbell
De Black Cat Crossed His Luck by James D. Carrothers
At The Closed Gate Of Justice by James David Corrothers
An Indignation Dinner by James David Corrothers
Paul Laurence Dunbar by James David Corrothers
The Don't-care Negro by Joseph Seamon, Sr. Cotter
Dr. Booker T. Washington To The National Negro Business League by Joseph Seamon, Sr. Cotter
Frederick Douglass by Joseph Seamon, Sr. Cotter
From The Dark Tower by Countee Cullen
To John Keats, Poet, At Spring Time by Countee Cullen
Yet Do I Marvel by Countee Cullen
Aunt Chloe's Lullaby by Daniel Webster Davis
I Can Trust by Daniel Webster Davis
An Ante-bellum Sermon by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Haunted Oak by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Poet by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Sympathy (2) by Paul Laurence Dunbar
We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar
When Malindy Sings by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Atlanta Exposition Ode by Mary Weston Fordham
Wordsworth by Angelina Weld Grimke
Bury Me In A Free Land by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Learning To Read by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Lines 141-199 by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
'sir, We Would See Jesus' by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Songs For The People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
To The Union Savers Of Cleveland by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
They Are Coming? by Josephine Dephine Henderson Heard
Early Affection by George Moses Horton
George Moses Horton, Myself by George Moses Horton
Imploring To Be Resigned At Death by George Moses Horton
Liberty And Slavery by George Moses Horton
Troubled With The Itch, And Rubbing With Sulphur by George Moses Horton
Bound No'th Blues by James Langston Hughes
I, Too by James Langston Hughes
Jazzonia by James Langston Hughes
Mother To Son by James Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks Of Rivers by James Langston Hughes
Lift Every Voice And Sing by James Weldon Johnson
O Black And Unknown Bards by James Weldon Johnson
The White Witch by James Weldon Johnson
The Feet Of Judas by George Marion Mcclellan
A January Dandelion by George Marion Mcclellan
A September Night by George Marion Mcclellan
Enslaved by Claude Mckay
Flame-heart by Claude Mckay
The Harlem Dancer by Claude Mckay
If We Must Die by Claude Mckay
The Tropics In New York by Claude Mckay
Robert G. Shaw by Henrietta Cordelia Ray
Verses To My Heart's-sister by Henrietta Cordelia Ray
Away To Canada by Joshua Mccarter Simpson
To The White People Of America by Joshua Mccarter Simpson
Dunbar by Anne Spencer
Letter To My Sister by Anne Spencer
White Things by Anne Spencer
The Muse's Favor by Priscilla Jane Thompson
The Muse's Favor: The Song by Priscilla Jane Thompson
Cane: Her Lips Are Copper Wire by Jean Toomer
Georgia Dusk by Jean Toomer
Wish For An Overcoat by Alfred Islay Walden
An Hymn To The Evening by Phillis Wheatley
On Being Brought From Africa To America by Phillis Wheatley
How Long? by James Monroe Whitfield
The Misanthropist by James Monroe Whitfield
Canto 1, Stanza 1 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 1, Stanza 19 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 1, Stanza 2 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 1, Stanza 20 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 1, Stanza 33 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 1, Stanza 34 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 2, Stanza 11 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 2, Stanza 7 by Albery Allson Whitman
Canto 2, Stanza 8 by Albery Allson Whitman
Not A Man And Yet A Man: Saville In Trouble by Albery Allson Whitman
Not A Man And Yet A Man: The End Of The Whole Matter by Albery Allson Whitman
Not A Man And Yet A Man: The Runaway by Albery Allson Whitman
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover Thrift Edition edition (July 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486296040
• ISBN-13: 978-0486296043
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Anthologies
  • #70 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > Poetry
  • #77 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > African-American Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compact but rewarding sampling, September 3, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

"African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927," edited by Joan Sherman, is a powerful and rewarding gathering of poems. Sherman has packed a lot into just 82 pages. Many of the giant names of African-American literature are here: Phillis Wheatley, Frances E.W. Harper, James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and many more. There are also poets who are perhaps less well-known, but still admirable as literary creators. As a whole, these poets write with an intriguing variety of voices: solemn, satirical, militant, etc.

Many of black America's most important and most memorable poems are in here: Wheatley's "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Dunbar's "Sympathy" (with its significant line, "I know why the caged bird sings..."), and Countee Cullen's "Yet Do I Marvel." There are poems about slavery, literacy, religion, racial uplift, folk culture, and more. It is interesting to see the juxtaposition (sometimes from the same author) between poems written in vernacular language and those written in very formal English with classical references.

The only weak aspect of the book are the author bios. They are simply too short. Some are only a single sentence long, and they don't contain much bibliographic data. I would have liked a little more for each author. Still, this is an excellent anthology whose compact size and focus make it great both for classroom use and for general reading.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply amazing, May 17, 2000

By 

John Curtis Means (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This book is simply amazing. I contains more culture than I have ever read in just one book. I definitely reccomend it to anyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable sample of poetry related with slavery., January 17, 2008

By 

Francisco Bernardo Regino E. (Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

A valuable and practical anthology on African American poetry. Really an interesting sample of poetry related with slavery since 1773. I strongly recommended. Francisco Bernardo Regino E. Dominican Republic.