12 Moments of Importance in African American Poetry, 1976-1992

1976 - Robert Hayden appointed Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now known as U.S. Poet Laureate.

1984 - Eroding Witness (1985) by Nathaniel McKay was selected by Michael S. Harper as a National Poetry Series Winner.

1985 - Gwendolyn Brooks appointed the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.

1985 - Robert Hayden: Collected Poems, edited by Frederick Glaysher, is published.

1987 - Rita Dove awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Thomas and Beulah.

1987 - The Dark Room Collective is founded by Thomas Sayers Ellis and Sharan Strange.

1988 - Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, 1969-1980 (1987) and Next: New Poems (1987), both by Lucille Clifton, are finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

1988 - Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaais published.

1990 - Elizabeth Alexander's The Venus Hottentot is published.

1990 - Rainbow Remnants in Rock Bottom Ghetto Sky (1991) by Thylias Moss is selected by Charles Simic as a National Poetry Series Winner.

1992 - Derek Walcott receives Nobel Prize for Literature.

1992 - In the Tradition: An Anthology of Young Black Writers, edited by Kevin Powell and Ras Baraka, is published. 

*******
Related:
• 15 Moments, 1918 - 1950
• 10 Moments, 1965 - 1976