Dorothy Hilton Chapman - Index to Poetry by Black American Women: (Bibliographies and Indexes in Afro-American and African Studies)

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title	:	Index to Poetry By Black American Women Bibliographies and Indexes in Afro-American and African Studies, 0742-6925 ; No. 15
author	:	Chapman, Dorothy Hilton.
publisher	:	Greenwood Publishing Group
isbn10 | asin	:	0313251525
print isbn13	:	9780313251528
ebook isbn13	:	9780313064401
language	:	English
subject	American poetry--African American authors--Indexes, American poetry--Women authors--Indexes, African American women in literature--Indexes, Women and literature--United States--Indexes, African American women--Intellectual life--Indexes, Poetry in English
publication date	:	1986
lcc	:	Z1229.N39C45 1986eb
ddc	:	016.811/008/099287
subject	:	American poetry--African American authors--Indexes, American poetry--Women authors--Indexes, African American women in literature--Indexes, Women and literature--United States--Indexes, African American women--Intellectual life--Indexes, Poetry in English

Page i Index to Poetry by Black American Women Page ii RECENT TITLES IN BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND INDEXES IN AFRO-AMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES Black Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, The University of Michigan Blacks in the American Armed Forces, 17761983: A Bibliography Lenwood G.Davis and George Hill, compilers Education of the Black Adult in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography Leo McGee and Harvey G.Neufeldt, compilers A Guide to the Archives of Hampton Institute Fritz J.Malval, compiler A Bibliographical Guide to Black Studies Programs in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography Lenwood G.Davis and George Hill, compilers Wole Soyinka: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources James Gibbs, Ketu H.Katrak, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., compilers Afro-American Demography and Urban Issues: A Bibliography R.A.Obudho and Jeannine B.Scott, compilers Afro-American Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources Nathaniel Davis, compiler and editor The Afro-American Short Story: A Comprehensive, Annotated Index with Selected Commentaries Preston M.Yancy, compiler Black Labor in America, 18651983: A Selected Annotated Bibliography Joseph Wilson, compiler and editor Martin Luther King, Jr.: An Annotated Bibliography Sherman E.Pyatt, compiler Blacks in the Humanities, 17501984: A Selected Annotated Bibliography Donald Franklin Joyce, compiler The Black Family in the United States: A Revised, Updated, Selectively Annotated Bibliography Lenwood G.Davis, compiler Black American Families, 19651984: A Classified, Selectively Annotated Bibliography Walter R.Allen, editor Page iii Compiled by Dorothy Hilton Chapman Bibliographies and Indexes in Afro-American and African Studies, Number 15 GREENWOOD PRESS New York Westport, Connecticut London Page iv LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Chapman, Dorothy Hilton, 1934
Index to poetry by Black American women. (Bibliographies and indexes in Afro-American and
African studies, ISSN 0742-6925; no. 15)
Bibliography: p.
1. American poetryAfro-American authorsIndexes.
2. 3. 3.

Afro-American women in literatureIndexes. 4. Women and
literatureUnited StatesIndexes. I. Title.
II. bdg.: alk. paper) Copyright 1986 by Dorothy Hilton Chapman All rights reserved. paper) Copyright 1986 by Dorothy Hilton Chapman All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 8614936 ISBN: 0-313-25152-5 ISSN: 0742-6925 First published in 1986
Greenwood Press, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport, Connecticut 06881 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.481984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Page v To my granchildren Jermaine Jay, Dessalyn Geneva, and Dawn Nicole Murray Page vi This page intentionally left blank. Page vii

Foreword by Louis Edna Gibson West	ix
Preface	xiii
Key to Abbreviations for Books Indexed	xv
TITLE AND FIRST LINE INDEX
AUTHOR INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX

Page viii This page intentionally left blank. Page ix The Black American women poets for more than two centuries have entertained, inspired, and influenced their followers. Through their creative genius and eloquent expressions, they give a very sensitive and intimate view of the Black experience in America.

In style, content, and tone, their poetry reflects the social, political, and economic climates of their generations, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Harlem Renaissance Period (roughly 19171935, peaking in the 1920s), and the Black movement beginning in the 1960s. The road to public recognition for these American Black women poets has been long and hard. Their poetry for many years was not taken seriously and was considered by some to be of little literary significance. Consequently, only a select few found their way into the established mass media, though many were gifted poets and prolific writers. In the earlier years, they relied almost exclusively on the Black press and other obscure publications as major outlets for their poetry. A few white magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, and Harpers Bazaar published some of their work, but most of the mainstream publishers refused to publish poets known to be of color.

Nevertheless, a small number of Black women poets somehow managed to get their poems published by well-known publishers, and some were given critical attention; regrettably, though, most of their poetry was never read or appreciated by the general public. Despite this historical neglect and the general lack of opportunity for public recognition, a few Black American women poets not only influenced Black literary thought and Black intellectual and cultural life, but also had a major impact on general American culture. In so doing, several of these Black women attained national and intematnational acclaim. Phillis Wheatley (17531784) was the first so-called Negro to achieve such distinction. Because of her quick intellect, creative genius, and facility with words, an appreciation of her work spread at home and abroad. Her first volume, Poems on Various Sub jects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773 while she was in London, and she thereby became the first Negro American to publish a volume.

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