African American poetry is as old as America itself, yet this touchstone of American identity is often overlooked. In this critical history of African American poetry, from its origins in the transatlantic slave trade, to present day hip-hop, Lauri Ramey traces African American poetry from slave songs to today's award-winning poets. Covering a wide range of styles and forms, canonical figures like Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) and Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906) are brought side by side with lesser known poets who explored diverse paths of bold originality. Calling for a revised and expanded canon, Ramey shows how some poems were suppressed while others were lauded, while also examining the role of music, women, innovation, and art as political action in African American poetry. Conceiving of a new canon reveals the influential role of African American poetry in defining and reflecting the United States at all points in the nation's history.

‘In this compact survey, Ramey (English, Hunan Normal Univ., China) corrals her lifelong learning into a useful history of African American poetry, and she offers compelling reasons for considering works and poets previously disregarded and for reconsidering many who were misunderstood … This book keeps discourse current and research up to date in light of past cultural and racist exigencies … Highly Recommended.’

L. L. Johnson Source: Choice

'… is the essence of African American poetry - the 'tremendously resilient core that preserves its identity even in the face of a lot of political pressure to assimilate,' and allows it to embrace 'an equally strong process of regeneration'.'

Andrew Peart Source: The University of Chicago Magazine

'For students, scholars, and fans of cultural products indebted to African American cultural innovation, this lineage-building work is essential.'

Alea Adigweme Source: Reed Magazine

‘… the visualization of connecting threads linking seemingly disparate poets, periods, and forms, crystalizes an understanding of African American poetry that highlights valuable consistencies in the tradition without simplifying the work.’

McKinley E. Melton Source: ALH Online Review

‘… successfully expands our understanding of African American poetry, the traditions in which is rooted, and the possibilities it continues to possess.’

McKinley E. Melton Source: ALH Online Review