I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans - Softcover

Adoff, Arnold

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689808690 ISBN 13: 9780689808692

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1997

Synopsis

First published in 1968, this anthology was one of the first collections of African American poetry specifically created with the young reader in mind. Along with selections from Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks, this newly updated version features poems by such contemporary poets as Maya Angelou, Ishmael Reed, Rita Dove, and others. This is a comprehensive reflection of the African-American voice and culture. Young Adult.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5 Up. Countless anthologies of African-American poetry, many with elaborate illustrations, have appeared since Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother (Macmillan, 1968) was published. It remains remarkable in its ability to present the African-American experience through poetry that speaks for itself without the distraction of artwork or the need to trumpet itself as being multicultural. This revised and updated edition has 21 new selections, representing 19 poets (9 of them women), added to the thematic sections of the original title. Now, readers can meet more contemporary writers such as Rita Dove, Maya Angelou, and Ishmael Reed as well as classic black poets like Countee Cullen, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Langston Hughes. An introduction puts the book in historical context and a foreword offers encouragement to a new generation of readers. Notes and biographies have been updated and added where appropriate and Andrews's spare but evocative line drawings still open each section. Because of the historical context of many of the poems, the book will be much in demand during Black History Month, but it should be used and treasured as part of the larger canon of literature to be enjoyed by all Americans at all times of the year. An indispensable addition to library collections.?Carrie Schadle, New York Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7 and up. Nearly 30 years after poet and anthologist Adoff first published his classic core collection of black poetry, this new edition has been expanded to include 21 additional poets, 10 of them women. In a celebratory afterword, Adoff remembers how he collected those first poems into a book in 1968 so that he could present to his students, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, "the complete vision of an American literature." Many of us can still remember the excitement of reading that original anthology, of discovering those distinct, powerful voices so long left out of the American canon. The arrangement here is still by theme, with the new poems echoing, arguing with, connecting, and extending the core. There are eloquent introductions by critic Rudine Sims Bishop and poet Nikki Giovanni and notes at the back on the poems as well as brief biographies of the poets. A must purchase. Hazel Rochman

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0689808690
• ISBN 13: 9780689808692
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 192
• Illustrator: Andrews Benny