poets

Appalachia, in the popular imagination, stubbornly remains poor and white. Open a dictionary and you’ll see Appalachian described as a “native or inhabitant of Appalachia, especially one of predominantly Scotch-Irish, English, or German ancestry.” Read J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” and you’ll enter a world that’s white, poor and uncultured, with few, if any, people of color. But as Black poets and scholars living in Appalachia, we know that this simplified portrayal obscures a world that is far more complex. It has always been a place filled with diverse inhabitants and endowed with a lush literary history. Black writers like Effie Waller Smith have been part of this cultural landscape as far back as the 19th century. Today, Black writers and poets continue to explore what it means to ...

Most often in the United States, when poetry is discussed, what comes to mind for many is the works of Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, even Emily Dickinson. These are referred to as the “classics.” While their works have influenced much of American culture, the works of poets of color have championed revolutionary change, many through social justice movements. Poets such as Joy Harjo, Khalil Gibran, Gloria Anzaldua, Suji Kwock Kim, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Maya Angelou. Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry, and was born into slavery, yet many do not know her name. Even when we look globally, many poets were key revolutionaries in the Sandinista National Liberation Front against the Somoza regime and United States oc...