I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans
by Arnold Adoff
1997
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.
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.
