African American literature: Quick Facts

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Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry

Olaudah Equiano's autobiography

David Walker's Appeal

Frederick Douglass

Engraved portrait of William Wells Brown, shown from the chest up wearing a suit, vest, and cravat, with short, wavy hair.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Charlotte Forten Grimké

Elizabeth Keckley

Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Colorful Life of Alice Walker

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12 Contemporary Black Authors You Must Read slave narrative African American folktale Today in History—March 11: A Raisin in the Sun Makes Theatrical History African Americans literature French literature Brahmin African literature American literature Arabic literature Italian literature German literature Spanish literature Japanese literature Latin American literature

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American literature: African American literature

Key People

Kevin Young

Kevin Young

American poet, essayist, and editor

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois

American sociologist, historian, and activist

Alice Walker smiling and wearing glasses, a beaded necklace, and a burgundy velvet top at the opening of The Color Purple in New York City.

Alice Walker

American writer

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison

American author

Solomon Northup: image from Twelve Years a Slave (1853)

Solomon Northup

American farmer and writer

Maria Stewart

Maria Stewart

American author

August Wilson, 2003

August Wilson

American dramatist

Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano

abolitionist and writer

Charles W. Chesnutt

Charles W. Chesnutt

American writer

Alex Haley

Alex Haley

American author

William Wells Brown

William Wells Brown

American writer

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form