18th & 19th Century Afro-American Poets and i

It should never be forgotten, that contrary to popular belief, written poetry started among Afro-Americans in America as far back as the 18th century when these phenomenal pioneer poets were still slaves. These front-runners were published in newspapers across the United States, United Kingdom and the world at large. These poets, while chained, published books of poetry; books that were sold across the world.

Attached to each poem is a poem that I wrote in some cases to respond and in others, I attempted to tap into the mind of the poet and write what the poet may have written were the poet alive today. And some of the poems I wrote are outright odes, elegies, and ballads that didn't necessarily respond or tap into the mind of the poet, but they were just a free expression of the muse.

The reader will find that some poets were merely mentioned with their poems and date but the work was not attached to them; that is because, though, they were born before the 20th century, some of them died in the 20th century, and some of their works may have been published later, thereby making sure that they are not in the public domain yet. The reader is encouraged to seek these works online, as they are readily available on numerous websites and online books.

This project seeks to bring these legends to life, to make them live and write to the 21st century audience. It aims to bring into the conscience of the present black poet the determination and perseverance of those outstanding poets who have come and gone before us.

I hope it also ignites serious appreciation and analyses of not just the works of these poets, but the strenuous lives these iconoclasts lived. From Lucy Terry Prince who witnessed a massacre by the Native Indians on her neighbors; to Phillis Wheatley Peters who went as far as almost meeting the King of England at the time, before being informed that her owner was sick and had to return to America; to George Moses Horton who taught himself to read, and would compose poems in his head and ask for help to get it written down years before he learned to write, and in some cases even sold some of his poems to eager customers; to Jupiter Hammon, who would rather remain a slave than be freed, but still fought for the rights of other slaves to be free; and the list goes on and on.