104 Volumes of African American Poetry, 2000-2011

I finally organized an initial bibliography of the 104 volumes of poetry by African American writers in our black studies collection. Since 2009, we have been organizing "browsing sessions," where we give students opportunities to peruse the volumes and offer comments about poems and poets that interest them. We also blog about the volumes here on our blog.


I am posting a list of the books organized by publication year below. By the way, when and if we get additional book funding and donations in the fall, we'll work to expand our collection. If you have suggestions for additions, feel free to let us know in the comments or via email.

Volumes of Poetry by Year, 2000-2011



2000 [3 books]
• Clifton, Lucille. Blessing the Boats
• Derricote, Toi. Natural Birth
• Trethewey, Natasha. Domestic Work

2001 [6 books]
• Alexander, Elizabeth. Antebellum Dream Book
• Eady, Cornelius. Brutal Imagination
• Jordan, A. Van. Rise
• Komunyakaa, Yusef . Pleasure Dome
• Nelson, Marilyn. Carver
• Young, Kevin. To Repel Ghosts

2002 [8 books]
• Cortez, Jayne. Jazz Fan Looks Back
• Hayes, Terrance. Hip Logic
• Jackson, Major. Leaving Saturn
• Mullen, Harryette. Blues Baby
• Mullen, Harryette. Sleeping with the Dictionary
• Trethewey, Natasha. Bellocq's Ophelia
• Troupe, Quincy. Transcircularities
• Van Clief-Stefanon, Lyrae. Black Swan


2003 [11 books]
• Ai. Dread
• Baraka, Amiri. Somebody Blew up America and Other Poems
• Ellis, Kelly Norman. Tougaloo Blues
• Finney, Nikky. The World is Round
• Joseph, Allison. Imitation of Life
• Matejka, Adrian. The Devil’s Garden
• Medina, Tony. Committed to Breathing
• Moore, Jessica Care. The Alphabet Verses
• Shannon, Angela. Singing the Bones Together
• Smith, Tracy K. The Body's Question
• Young, Kevin. jelly roll

2004 [15 books]
• Baraka, Amiri. Un poco Low Coup
• Clifton, Lucille. Mercy
• Dove, Rita. American Smooth
• Hughes, Langston. Let America Be America Again
• Hughes, Langston. Vintage Hughes
• Jordan, A. Van. M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A
• Joseph, Allison. Worldly Pleasures
• Lansana, Quraysh A. They Shall Run
• Lilley, Gary Copeland. The Subsequent Blues
• Madhubuti, Haki. R. Run Toward Fear
• Miller, E Ethelbert. How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love
• Moore, Opal. Lot’s Daughters
• Moss, Thylias. Slave Moth
• Seibles, Tim. Buffalo Head Solos
• Walker, Frank X. Buffalo Dance

2005 [9 books]
• Alexander, Elizabeth. American Sublime
• Brooks, G. The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks
• Ellis, Thomas Sayers. The Maverick Room
• Hyman, Ramona. In the Sanctuary of a South
• Jess, Tyehimba. Leadbelly
• Lilley, Gary Copeland. Black Poem
• Nelson, Marilyn. A Wreath for Emmett Till
• Saloy, Mona Lisa. Red Beans and Ricely Yours
• Young, Kevin. Black Maria


2006 [11 books]
• Alexander, Elizabeth. American Blue
• Dungy, Camille T. What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison
• Francis, Vievee. Blue-Tail Fly
• Hayes, Terrance. Wind in a Box
• Johnson, Amaud Jamaul. Red Summer
• Mullen, Harryette. Recyclopedia: Trimmings, S*PeRM**K*T, and Muse and Drudge
• Shockley, Evie. a half-red sea
• Smith, Patricia. Teahouse of the Almighty
• Trethewey, Natasha. Native Guard
• Troupe, Quincy. The Architecture of Language
• Williams, Saul. The Dead Emcee Scrolls

2007 [4 books]
• Jackson, Major. Hoops
• Alexander, Elizabeth and Marilyn Nelson. Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color
• Jordan, A. Van Quantum Lyrics
• Young, Kevin. For the Confederate Dead

2008 [11 books]
• Brown, Jericho. Please
• Cherry, James. Honoring the Ancestors
• Clifton, Lucille. Voices
• Eady, Cornelius. Hardheaded Weather
• Floyd-Miller, Cherryl. Exquisite Heats
• Lilley, Gary Copeland. Alpha Zulu
• Powell, Kevin. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
• Smith, Patricia. Blood Dazzler
• Walker, Frank X. When Winter Come
• White, Marcus Uganda. Morning Come Quick
• Young, Kevin. Dear Darkness


2009 [11 books]
• Alexander, Elizabeth. Praise Song for the Day
• Betts, Tara. Arc & Hue
• Cortez, Jayne. On the Imperial Highway
• Douglas, Mitchell L. H. Cooling Board
• Dove, Rita. Sonata Mulattica
• Giovanni, Nikki. Bicycles
• Joseph, Allison. Voice: Poems
• Madhubuti, Haki. Liberation Narratives
• Matejka, Adrian. Mixology
• Robinson, Kysha Brown. Spherical Woman
• Van Clief-Stefanon, Lyrae. Open Interval


2010 [12 books]
• Ai. No Surrender
• Alexander, Elizabeth. Crave Radiance
• Betts, Reginald D. Shahid Reads His Own Palm
• Dungy, Camille T. Suck on the Marrow
• Ellis, Thomas Sayers. Skin Inc.
• Hayes, Terrance. Lighthead
• Jackson, Major. Holding Company
• Joseph, Allison. My Father’s Kites
• Medina, Tony. My Old Man Was Always on the Lam
• Murillo, John. Up Jump the Boogie
• Sanchez, Sonia. Morning Haiku
• Walker, Alice. Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

2011 [3 books]
• Finney, Nikky. Head Off & Split
• Shockley, Evie. the new black
• Young, Kevin. Ardency