Thursday, July 2, 2015

Select list of debut collections by African American poets, 2000 - 2015

While reading Celeste Doaks's debut poetry collection over the last couple of days, I thought about and looked through my collection of first volumes by poets. I decided to organize a list, showing just one debut for each year between 2000 - 2015.

2000: Domestic Work by Natasha Trethewey
2001: Rise by A. Van Jordan
2002: Black Swan Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon
2003: The Body's Question by Tracy K. Smith
2004: Armor and Flesh by Mendi Lewis Obadike
2005: Leadbelly by Tyehimba Jess
2006: Blue-Tail Fly by Vievee Francis
2007: TBA
2008: Please by Jericho Brown 
2009: Arc & Hue by Tara Betts
2010: Shahid Reads His Own Palm by Reginald Betts
2011: Negro League Baseball by Harmony Holiday
2012: me and Nina by Monica Hand
2013: Moon, Kamilah Aisha. She Has a Name
2014: Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones
2015: Cornrows and Cornfields by Celeste Doaks

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Note: I don't think I have a "debut" collection from a poet from 2007.

Related:
The value of 'Cornrows and Cornfields' by Celeste Doaks
Celeste Doaks's Father-Daughter poems
Cultural Signifiers in Cornrows and Cornfields  

1 comment:

Sequoia said...

Remica Bingham's "Conversion" (?)