Sherley Anne Williams, American novelist, poet, and scholar, was born in Bakersfield, California in 1944 to Jesse Winson and Lena Silver Williams. She was raised in poverty in a housing project in Fresno. Williams’ mother, who discouraged Sherley from reading because she thought books would … Read MoreSherley Anne Williams (1944-1999)
Afro-Cuban writer Nicolás Guillén used his poetry as a form of social protest in pre-Castro Cuba. Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba on July 10, 1902 and by the mid 1920s had emerged as a leader of the Afro-Cuban movement. He was committed to social … Read MoreNicolás Guillén (1902-1989)
Poet and essayist Jupiter Hammon published his writing while living and working as a slave in Revolutionary-era New England. He is believed to be the first published male African American poet. His essays were directed to slave readers and featured themes of morality and Christian … Read MoreJupiter Hammon (c. 1711-c. 1806)
As a monumental figure in education and poetry, Mari Evans also played roles in shaping women’s history, politics, music, and drama. Born on July 16, 1923, in Toledo, Ohio, Evans’ mother passed away when Evans was ten. Her father immediately felt the need to encourage … Read MoreMari E. Evans (1923- )
Legendary poet and politician, Aimé Césaire, was born on June 26, 1913, in the small town of Basse-Pointe on the island of Martinique. His father was a tax inspector and his mother a dressmaker. Unlike the majority of lower-class Martinicans, Césaire was taught to read … Read MoreAimé Césaire (1913-2008)
Juan Latino, or Juan de Sesa as he was actually named, was an Afro-Hispanic poet in Renaissance Spain who taught at the Cathedral school in Granada and became famous for his epic Latin poems. A native of Berbería, a Spanish term associated with the Northern … Read MoreJuan Latino (ca. 1518-ca. 1594)
The author of the first known work of African American literature (the poem “Bars Fight”), Lucy Terry Prince was kidnapped in Africa as an infant and sold into slavery in Rhode Island. At the age of five, she became the property of Captain Ebenezer Wells … Read MoreLucy Terry Prince (c. 1732-1821)
