{"id":53429,"date":"2024-10-07T06:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=53429"},"modified":"2024-08-12T14:12:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T19:12:19","slug":"celebrate-black-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/celebrate-black-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"CELEBRATE BLACK POETRY"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1970, folk musician Stanley A. Ransom proposed that October 17th<\/sup> each year be set aside as a national day to celebrate black literature and culture. He selected this day in commemoration of the birthday of Jupiter Hammon in 1711. Hammon is popularly known as the father of African American literature and was the first published black poet in the United States. Black Poetry Day, established in his honor, is a day to recognize the contributions to literature of past and present black poets and writers and to celebrate the black experience, particularly as expressed through poetry.<\/p>\n

Jupiter Hammon was born into slavery in New York and served four generations of the Henry Lloyd estate owners during his lifetime, including during the Revolutionary War. He was never emancipated. Despite his circumstances, which he actually considered to give him “more advantages and privileges” [1]<\/span> than most other slaves and “more than many white people have enjoyed” [1]<\/span>, he become a well-respected preacher and bookkeeper-clerk.\u00a0 His work about slavery received wide circulation. His first poem \u201cAn Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries\u201d was published in 1761. Hammon\u2019s second published poem came about by his recognition of the need to support and encourage other black writers at a time when they did not receive the same kind of support as whites. \u201cAn Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley\u201d, was written by Hammon as an encouragement to Miss Wheatley in admiration of her work as the first published black female author. Hammon’s work drew heavily on Christian motifs and theology, serving as an encouragement to his fellow slaves to persevere.<\/p>\n

Black poetry does not have to be about slavery, segregation, or the equal rights movement. However, it is often linked to the experiences of African Americans and their history in America which is tied inextricably to their race. Use these books as a jumping off point to explore, appreciate, and celebrate the contributions African-American poets have made (and continue to make) to the richness of American poetry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 100 best African American poems)<\/a> edited by Nikki Giovanni
\nThe Oxford anthology of African-American poetry<\/a> edited by Arnold Rampersad
\nPoemhood, our black revival : history, folklore & the Black experience: a young adult poetry anthology<\/a> edited by Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin
\nBlack liturgies : prayers, poems, and meditations for staying human<\/a> by Cole Arthur Riley
\nThis is the honey : an anthology of contemporary Black poets<\/a> edited by Kwame Alexander<\/p>\n

[1] <\/span>BlackPast, B. (2012, March 15).\u00a0(1787) Jupiter Hammon, \u201cAn Address to the Negroes in the State of New York\u201d<\/i>. BlackPast.org. https:\/\/www.blackpast.org\/african-american-history\/1787-jupiter-hammon-address-negroes-state-new-york\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1970, folk musician Stanley A. Ransom proposed that October 17th each year be set aside as a national day to celebrate black literature and culture. He selected this day in commemoration of the birthday of Jupiter Hammon in 1711. Hammon is popularly known as the father of African American[Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[6670,2352,8863,3145,6697,8862,537,536,8845,416,515],"class_list":["post-53429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","tag-african-american-history","tag-african-american","tag-african-american-literature","tag-african-american-tradition","tag-black-authors","tag-jupiter-hammon","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-poets","tag-slavery","tag-writers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXx-dTL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53429"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53488,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53429\/revisions\/53488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}