The New Black Poetry

by Clarence Major

Copy 3 is to replace the 2 missing copies noted in both holdings records.

Genres: Poetry

156 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1969

About the author

Currently a professor of twentieth century American literature at the University of California at Davis, Clarence Major is a poet, painter and novelist who was born in Atlanta and grew up in Chicago.
Clarence Major was a finalist for the National Book Awards (1999). He is recipient of many awards, among them, a National Council on The Arts Award (1970), a Fulbright (1981-1983), a Western States Book Award (1986) and two Pushcart prizes--one for poetry, one for fiction. Major is a contributor to many periodicals and anthologies in the USA, Europe, South America and Africa. He has served as judge for The National Book Awards, the PEN-Faulkner Award and twice for the National Endowment for The Arts. Major has traveled extensively and lived in various parts of the United States and for extended periods in France and Italy. He has lectured and read his work in dozens of U. S. universities as well as in England, France, Liberia, West Germany, Ghana, and Italy.

Reviews

[tiffany nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I checked out a different edition of this at my library, but can't seem to find it on goodreads and a little bummed that this obviously hasn't been read/reviewed enough.

But this is poetry that is going to sit with me forever. Poetry that makes you think, makes you feel, makes you angry, makes you empathize. Poetry that makes you want to revolt.

Here's a small list of some of my favorites.
+ I Would Be A Painter Most Of All - Len Chandler
+ A Love Dirge To The Whitehouse - Bob Fletcher
+ Psychedelic Fireman - David Henderson
+ Elements Of Grammar - Calvin C. Hernton
+ Night Interpreted - Everett Hoagland
+ My Blackness Is The Beauty Of This Land - Lance Jeffers
+ Black Lotus/ a prayer - Alicia Ley Johnson
+ Last Letter To The Western Civilization - DT Ogilvie
+ Night Slivers - Darwin T. Turner

Okay, so maybe not a small list. But I truly feel black poets and black artists don't get even a percentile of the praise they deserve. This was a beautiful little book.

♡

[Ann Beej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very glad I picked this up. I appreciate how the editor (Clarence Major) picked poems that expressed that particular point in time so well. It's a very well-done anthology and really almost a historical artifact. Major's introduction is also a startling and intelligent explanation of his editorial and poetic philosophy. It helped me understand why I like this style of poetry so much.

I found myself a bit sad that some of the very talented poets seem to have disappeared to time, or to have published very little after the anthology was published. I would have liked to read more from many of these writers.

Some of my favourites included:
John A. Williams' "Safari West"
Cy Leslie's "On Riots"
Russell Atkins' "Editorial Poem On An Incident of Effects Far-Reaching" (about M. Mallory)
Julia Fields' "Black Students"

[seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Very much compiled in 1968. I think all the theory nerds who hit that stump where they “don’t know what the end of the world might look like” would benefit reading some of these poems. Not all of them tho. The Black Nationalist fervor of this book is admirable but not without its shortcomings. But it’s more suited to be read as a literary compilation of Black peoples affectual response to what they saw as (possibly) a beginning to an end. The Clarence major one will sit with me for the longest. A militant and masculine collection with scattered poems by women (lorde, Jordan, Sanchez,and my personal fav that was new to me was Alicia L Johnson) that is worth reading.