Monday, June 1, 2020

Covering volumes of poetry with collegiate black men



I've been covering poetry (and rap lyrics) in classes with the collegiate black men I work with for more than a decade and a half now. What follows is a list of volumes I've returned to on multiple occasions with guys over the years. 

• Brutal Imagination (2001). By Cornelius Eady
• Somebody Blew Up America and Other Poems (2004). By Amiri Baraka
• Buffalo Dance (2004). By Frank X. Walker
Vintage Hughes (2004). By Langston Hughes
 leadbelly (2005). By Tyehimba Jess 
• Dear Darkness (2008). By Kevin Young
• Blood Dazzler (2008). By Patricia Smith
• My Father’s Kites (2010). By Allison Joseph
• the new black (2011). By Evie Shockley
• Dear Hero (2013). By Jason McCall
• Autogeography (2013). By Reginald Harris
• The Big Smoke (2013). By Adrian Matejka
 Olio (2016). By Tyehimba Jess 

For a more expansive list, see Poetry by black writers, 2000 - 2019

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Are there collections that you feel are most effective? I get the sense that Big Smoke is has a big impact. What's the context in which you offer these collections?