Anthologies of African American Writing

African-American Poetry of the Nineteenth Century: An Anthology

"African-American Poetry of the Nineteenth Century: An Anthology" . Ed. Joan R. Sherman. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1992. 506 pp.

● Introduction
● A Note to the Reader
● George Moses Horton
● Noah Calwell Cannon
● Charles Lewis Reason
● Ann Plato
● Joshua McCarter Simpson
● James Monroe Whitfield
● Daniel Alexander Payne
● Alfred Gibbs Campbell
● Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
● Joseph Cephas Holly
● George Boyer Vashon
● Elymas Payson Rogers
● Adah Isaacs Menken
● James Madison Bell
● Charlotte L. Forten Grimke
● Alfred Islay Walden
● Albery Allson Whitman
● Henrietta Cordelia Ray
● John Willis Menard
● Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin
● Timothy Thomas Fortune
● James Edwin Campbell
● Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr.
● George Clinton Rowe
● Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard
● Daniel Webster Davis
● Edward W. Williams
● Paul Laurence Dunbar
● George Marion McClellan
● Eloise Alberta Veronica Bibb
● Mary Weston Fordham
● Frank Barbour Coffin
● James Ephriam McGirt
● Samuel Alfred Beadle
● Priscilla Jane Thompson
● Bibliography
● Subject Index
● Title and Poet Index

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• An "excellent" anthology of 171 poems by 35 poets, "with authoritative headnotes" and bibliography (Kinnamon 1997: 471).
• "This is a fascinating historical collection of black poetry that, unlike the poetry that emerged at the time of the Harlem Renaissance, never earned lasting popularity. The thirty-five poets included were fairly prominent in pre-Civil War, Civil War, and Reconstruction years, each having published at least one volume of verse or with poetry that appeared in black journals of the nineteenth century. Poets with talent and ability that ranges from mediocre to technically skillful, they are represented by poems that reflect the themes and mood of the era—abolitionism, social issues, or religion. Arranged chronologically by the year of the poem, the editor has included one or two pages of biographical information on each poet. There are several fine books of contemporary black poetry; but this emphasizes the literary heritage of black Americans. Highly recommended for all readers, and indexed by title, poet, and subject" ("The Columbia Granger's Guide to Poetry Anthologies". Ed. William Katz, Linda Sternberg Katz, and Esther Crain. 2nd enlarged ed. New York: Columbia UP, 1994. 4)

• Kinnamon 1997: 471
• Indexed in "The Columbia Granger's Index to African-American Poetry" (1999)

A0267