In the twentieth-century, when Contemporary Literature was emerging from 1960 to present time, it was seen as a product of the post-Second World War situation. Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Lincoln Heights, an all-black suburb in Cincinnati. Giovanni is one of the most commonly read American poets; her frankness in her writing has brought her a lot of recognition and prominence. Giovanni became the voice of many African Americans, her contribution to the literary period reflects the struggle for equality, and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in other’s life. Her writings reflect contemporary events and experiences in her own life, as well as in the larger African American community. At times, she can be rather controversial but becomes a respected speaker and reader and has upheld a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black society. Contemporary literature is a modern form of writing, which was born out of the devastations of World War II, characterized by unique features such as linguistic and stylistic characteristics, and thematic features. It is the product of the post-Second World War situation. It was a moment in time when “cynicism, frustration and disillusionment crept into the lives and minds of mankind after witnessing the damages caused by the War” ("Contemporary”). People were pessimistic, bitter and could not appreciate the glorious history, which marked the beginning of the romantic and metaphysical works. Some of the linguistic and stylistic characteristics consisted of free verse, juxtaposition, or combination of ideas and themes and a broad use of classical allusions. Contemporary poet, Nikki Giovanni, is famous for writing in free vers... ... middle of paper ... ...ry of The World...The Definitive Guide to Love Poems. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. "Contemporary Literature , Books on Literature." World Map, Map of the World. 2000. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. Fowler, Virginia C. "Nikki Giovanni: Bio: Timeline." Yolanda Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni: Poet, Virginia Tech University Professor. 2003. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. Jones, Dianne Rosena. "Nikki Giovanni—Revolutionary Poet - African American Lit." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. 2011. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. Mary. "Nikki-Rosa (293) Analysis." AP Lit. 30 Mar. 2008. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. Neal, Mark Anthony. "God Parent of Hip Hop Nikki Giovanni." Chickenbones. 8 June 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. "Nikki Giovanni Criticism (Vol. 117)." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. 2011. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. Parks, Tilia. "A Moment With Nikki Giovanni - Campus Life." Spokesman. 9 Nov. 2001. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
... rises in the end and will continue to rise every day until the end of time. Just like moons and like suns (Angelou 8). By using this comparison it gives off an aura of invincibility because there is really nothing in this world that can stop the sun and moon from rising every day.
Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 163-67. Print.
Many writers begin writing and showing literary talent when they are young. Paul Laurence Dunbar, born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, was already editor of a newspaper and had had two of his poems published in the local newspaper before he’d graduated from high school. His classmate, Orville Wright, printed The Tattler which Dunbar edited and published for the local African American community. After graduating from high school, he was forced to get a job as an elevator operator which allowed him spare time for writing. He finally gained recognition outside of Dayton when, in 1892, he was invited to address the Western Association of Writers and met James Newton Matthews who praised his work in a letter to an Illinois newspaper. In 1892, he decided to publish his first book of poems entitled Oak and Ivy and four years later his second book of poems Majors and Minors was published. People began to see him as a symbol for his race, and he was thought of artistically as “a happy-go-lucky, singing, shuffling, banjo-picking being… in a log cabin amid fields of cotton” (Dunbar, AAW 2). Dunbar’s poems, written alternately in literary and dialect English, are about love, death, music, laughter, human frailty, and though Dunbar tried to mute themes of social protest, social commentary on racial themes is present in his poetry.
Primary Document: Interview with Fannie Lou Hamer April 14, 1972. The interviewer is Dr. Neil McMillen.
This piece of auto biographical works is one of the greatest pieces of literature and will continue to inspire young and old black Americans to this day be cause of her hard and racially tense background is what produced an eloquent piece of work that feels at times more fiction than non fiction
OJO-ADE, Femi. Of Dreams Deferred Dead Or Alive African Perspectives on African-American Writers Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
works deserve literary and scholarly attention from all people because of the universal themes confronted, view of individuals at all levels of society, and the representation of diversity and complexity of the African American female at the turn of the century.
Probst, Robert, et al. "Elements of Literature sixth course literature of Britain." Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1997. 640-644.
Washington, Mary Helen. "The Darkened Eye Restored: Notes Toward a Literary History of Black Women". Angelyn Mitchell, ed. Within the Circle: An Anthology of African-American Literature, Criticism From the Present. Durham: Duke, 1994. 442-53.
In 1942, Margaret Walker won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for her poem For My People. This accomplishment heralded the beginning of Margaret Walker’s literary career which spanned from the brink of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s to the cusp of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s (Gates and McKay 1619). Through her fiction and poetry, Walker became a prominent voice in the African-American community. Her writing, especially her signature novel, Jubilee, exposes her readers to the plight of her race by accounting the struggles of African Americans from the pre-Civil War period to the present and ultimately keeps this awareness relevant to contemporary American society.
Wells, Kim. "My Antonia: A Survey of Critical Attitudes." August 23, 1999. Online Internet. November 4, 1998.
Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUENG125.10.2/sections/sec2.3
Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.
English Literature. By Stephen Greenblatt and M. H. Abrams. 8th ed. Vol. 2. New York: