Notebook on Poetry

First published in 1921, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

First published in 1937, “For My People” by Margaret Walker is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

First published in 1959, “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

First published in 1895 in his volume Majors and Minors, “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

First published in 1919, “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

First published in 1968, “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems

First published in 1961, “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” by Amiri Baraka is one of the more widely anthologized African American poems.

The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922) edited by James Weldon Johnson contains 116 poems by 31 poets.

The revised edition of The Book of American Negro Poetry (1931) edited by James Weldon Johnson contains 184 poems by 40 poets.

Trouble the Water: 250 Years of African-American Poetry (1997) edited by Jerry W. Ward, Jr. contains 388 poems by 104 poets.

The Vintage Book of African American Poetry: 200 Years of Vision, Struggle, Power, Beauty, and Triumph from 50 Outstanding Poets edited by Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton contains 349 poems by 50 poets.

Understanding the New Black Poetry (1973) edited by Stephen Henderson contains 200 poems by 72 poets.

Langston Hughes conceived of his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” as he crossed the Mississippi River aboard a train in June 1920. The poem was published in The Crisis magazine in 1921.

Langston Hughes’s widely anthologized poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was first published in The Crisis magazine.

Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” was written in response to what is known as “Red Summer,” the violent attacks against black people that took place in 1919.

Gwendolyn Brooks’s widely anthologized poem “We Real Cool” was first published in Poetry magazine in 1959.

Margaret Walker’s widely anthologized poem “For My People” was first published in Poetry magazine in 1937.

Claude McKay’s widely anthologized poem “If We Must Die” was first published in The Liberator magazine in 1919.

Nikki Giovanni’s widely anthologized poem “Nikki-Rosa” was first published in her volume Black Feeling, Black Talk/Black Judgement in 1968.

Between 1967 and 1974, Margaret Walker’s “For My People” appeared in more than 20 anthologies.

A recording of Margaret Walker reading her widely anthologized poem “For My People” appears on the album Anthology of Negro Poetry (1954) produced by the Smithsonian’s Folkways Records.

Since its initial publication in 1921, Langston Hughes’s poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” has appeared in more than 80 anthologies.

A recording of Langston Hughes reading his widely anthologized poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” appears on the album Anthology of Negro Poetry (1954) produced by the Smithsonian’s Folkways Records. The poem is listed as “I Have Known Rivers” on the album.

A recording of Claude McKay reading his widely anthologized poem “If We Must Die” appears on the album Anthology of Negro Poetry (1954) produced by the Smithsonian’s Folkways Records.

Anthologies comprised primarily of black writers have been far more likely to reprint Langston Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son” than anthologies primarily consisting of literature by white writers.

Sidney Poitier performs Langston Hughes’s “Mother to Son” on the album Poetry of the Negro (1955)

Sidney Poiteir performs Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” on the album Poetry of the Negro (1955)

Langston Hughes’s widely anthologized poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” appeared in more than 20 anthologies published during the 1990s.

Langston Hughes was 20 years old when he was widely anthologized poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was first published in June 1921.

Gwendolyn Brooks was 42 when her widely anthologized poem “We Real Cool” was first published in September 1959.

Margaret Walker was 22 years old when her widely anthologized poem “For My People” was first published in November 1937.

Claude McKay was 28 years old when his widely anthologized poem “If We Must Die” was first published in July 1919.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was 23 years old when his widely anthologized poem “We Wear the Mask” was first published in 1895.

Nikki Giovanni was 25 years old when her widely anthologized poem “Nikki-Rosa” was first published in 1968.

Amiri Baraka was 27 years old when his widely anthologized poem “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” was first published in 1961.

He was born Everett Leroy Jones and then took on the name LeRoi Jones later becoming Imamu Ameer Baraka then Imamu Amiri Baraka and finally Amiri Baraka

For many decades, people thought that Langston Hughes was born in 1902. However, while doing research in 2018, poet Eric McHenry discovered that Hughes was in fact born in 1901.

“Nikki-Rosa,” the title Nikki Giovanni’s most widely anthologized poem, is the nickname given to her by her older sister when they were children.

Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. Her older sister nicknamed her “Nikki.”

Langston Hughes’s widely anthologized poem “Mother to Son” was first published in The Crisis magazine in December 1922.

Langston Hughes’s widely anthologized “The Weary Blues” was first published in Opportunity magazine in May 1925.

First published in 1961, “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” by Amiri Baraka includes a 1959 dedication to his daughter Kellie Jones and a composition date of 1957.