"As a young man in the late 1800s, James Weldon Johnson was profoundly influenced by the sermons he heard by the renowned black preachers of the day. Later in life, he transformed his memories into magnificent poems about Creation, the Flood, the Crucifixion, the Prodigal Son, Noah's Ark, Judgment Day, and other stories from the Bible"--Publisher's web site.

Contains one hundred poems from classic and contemporary African American poets, as selected by an award-winning black poet and activist, including such writers as Robert Hayden, Mari Evans, Kevin Young, and Rita Dove.

Poems on aspects of race or racial problems by well-known Negro poets, including Countee Cullen, Richard Wright, Leroi Jones, Langston Hughes, and James Weldon Johnson.

A collection of poems from 1960 to the present highlights the political, social, economic, and personal struggles of African Americans, and features works from such poets as Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, and Major Jackson.

An anthology of short fiction features contributions by such authors as Edwidge Danticat, Eric Jerome Dickey, Kenji Jasper, John Edgar Wideman, E. Lynn Harris, Terry McMillan, Marita Golden, David Anthony Durham, and Bertice Berry.

"Hurston and Hughes, two giants of the Harlem Renaissance and American literature, were best friends--until they weren't. Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) and Langston Hughes ('The Negro Speaks of Rivers,' 'Let America Be America Again')were collaborators, literary gadflies, and close companions. They traveled together in Hurston's dilapidated car through the rural South collecting folklore, worked on the play Mule Bone, and wrote...

For the first time, Maya Angelou reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence, a presence absent during much of Angelou's early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Their reunion a decade later...

In this comprehensive and vibrant poetry anthology, bestselling author and poet Kwame Alexander curates a collection of contemporary anthems at turns tender and piercing and deeply inspiring throughout. Featuring work from well-loved poets such as Rita Dove, Jericho Brown, Warsan Shire, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith, Terrance Hayes, Morgan Parker, and Nikki Giovanni, This Is the Honey is a rich and abundant offering of language from the poets giving voice...