This was an amazing and in-depth compilation of so much African American poetry and prose. The historical context behind the different poems and poets in addition to the detailed description of the impact on black and American society was well written. I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to anyone, especially anyone who loves the variety in African American artists.

I would like to thank the publisher of African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Son for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley.

I don't know much about African American Poetry with the exception of Maya Angelou and Audre Lorde so this anthology is an excellent introduction for readers like me, who are interested in this topic and would like to trace the roots of African American Poetry. I appreciated a lot the introduction in the book, which explained the sections in the book, guiding the reader, as the poetry evolved through the ages.
It's a book I will often revisit to discover more African American Poets.

This is a truly masterful collection of Black poetry, and I'm going to buy a physical copy right now to put on my shelf. A must-have for any poet.

@Thanks NetGalley for giving me the access to read this wonderful story. It was such an emotional journey. I loved every line of this book. I give 5 stars to this wonderful book.

It took me quite a long time to work through this anthology, as it is massive. It's arranged by date and features hundreds of poets whom I never knew and was so glad to be introduced to. Some poems spoke to me more than others and the styles were incredibly diverse. Obviously it covers very raw, devastating subjects and obviously there are many great poets who couldn't be included. I discovered so many poets whose work I plan to seek out. This is a book that every school, library and home should have a copy of. It's tough reading but a fantastic compilation of phenomenal work. The biographies at the end are also really moving, interesting, inspiring, you name it. Highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song edited by Kevin Young is a compendium like no other, exploring the wide breadth of African American poetry from songs to poems and much more. There are eight sections in this collection and there are the familiar, often anthologized poems we've come to know, but there are also the unfamiliar poets who have been obscured by American culture for far too long. The struggle is real and it continues 250 years later.

Young says the collection contains "poems we memorize, pass around, carry in our memory, and literally inscribe in stone." And I would agree wholeheartedly with that.

This is a collection that should be brought to classrooms as young as elementary schools. These are the poems and truths that need to be taught so that we can learn from the past and move forward as a nation to a brighter future.

Full review posts on Dec. 2, 2020: https://savvyverseandwit.com/2020/12/african-american-poetry-250-years-of-struggle-and-song-edited-by-kevin-young.html

A book of astonishing depth and breadth showcasing the great variety of African-American poetry throughout history. It contains some old well-known names, such as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, and Gil Scott-Heron, and introduced me to many new favorites, like Fenton Johnson (whose "Tired" made me catch my breath and demanded multiple re-reads). As with any anthology, especially with an art form as diverse as poetry, not all entries will be to everyone's liking. However, one can usually separate out personal preference from quality when making a judgement on the poems themselves. My only issue was the inclusion of "Black Art" by Amiri Baraka, which contained antisemitic language that felt very out of place.

Thank you to NetGalley and Library of America for providing me with the ARC for this vital addition to the LoA series

“a monstrous unnamed baby ... history ... when she is strong enough to travel on her own beware she will” A gorgeous anthology put together by Kevin Young lingers on the pain of our past, lifting up voices who didn’t get their due yet is also uncompromising with the ferocity and joy of the newest generation of young, Black poets. I want to see this anthology in every classroom in the US. Delight in our resilience, sit at our kitchen table, weep with us, drink with us as Kevin Young recounts and rewrites Black histories & futures through verse. Thank you to Netgalley and Library of Congress for the ARC.

This is a beautiful collection of African American voices that have struggled for basic freedoms, human rights and their dreams. The book is organized by time and themes. I felt that it contained both famous authors and many that I hadn't been exposed too, which was a wonderful experience to be introduced to more authors of color.

What is more American than the words of both past and present that watched and shaped our history? Some words drip pain and despair down their verses within these pages. Some words being hope and light. So many other words show the very reality that frames lives of people long since dead and gone.

If you’re looking for a glimpse into history that may not be readily taught in a classroom, this book will give you exactly that via the words and emotions of these poets. The winners may write history books, but the artists and revolutionaries in this anthology write prose that, once read, is not easily forgotten.

<i>African American Poetry</i> encompasses 250 years of poetry from 1770-2020. I am glad I persevered finishing this poetry beast of 1170 pages. The book starts with an in-depth introduction explaining all the parts and highlighting some poets. I thought of giving up sometimes but the poetry collection includes many, many poets that I would find gems and continue. My gems - highlighted sometimes in my page updates - will probably be different than the gems you will find in this poetry collection. Personally, it took me longer to read the older poems since English is not my first language. However, since I read the book 'normally' it became easier for me as I read more poems.

The collection spreads the 250 years over 8 parts:
1. Bury Me in A Free Land 1770-1899
2. Lift Every Voice 1900-1918
3. The Dark Tower 1919-1936
4. Ballads of Remembrance 1936-1959
5. Ideas of Ancestry 1960-1975
6. Blue Light Sutras 1976-1989
7. Praise Songs for the Day 1990-2008
8. After the Hurricane 2009-2020

I would definitely recommend this poetry collection to any poetry lover and advice them to read it how they want to. Start in the middle, skip to the end. However, you like it.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written. It gets you in the feelings. It will make you cry, smile, and laugh. The pacing of the poetry in this book is good. But most importantly it makes you think. It is beautifully written. It will be in stores on October 20th for $45.00 (USD).

Library of America's African Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song, edited by Kevin Young, is a mammoth piece of work, essential for anyone interested in the ways poets address the issues of their times. At 1,170 pages, it offers an expansive reading experience. One can, of course, work one's way through it chronologically, not just observing changes is perspective, but also in poetic form. But one can also seek out poems from a specific region or on a specific topic. And it's a great title just for flipping through and reading whatever pieces present themselves. This is the kind of book to keep at one's bedside and savored a bit at a time.

This is an incredibly thorough, organized, remarkable anthology. The diversity of time period, style, experience, and voice is stunning, and I'm so impressed with how well it's been curated. I know I'm a bit of a weirdo when it comes to anthologies; I read all 1000 pages from cover to cover, and it was an amazing experience. Every library, every classroom, and every poetry lover's bookshelf needs this book.

Kevin Young has done it again. This anthology is essential for any library collection and is an amazing resource for both schools, adult learners and poetry enthusiasts.

This book is important. For someone, who have only known racism from 3rd point of view, this book is an introduction to the black struggles in their everyday lives. African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song sets a new standard for a genuinely deep engagement with Black poetry and its essential expression of American genius

Thank you to NetGalley and Library of America for a gifted eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kevin Young has a smooth writing style that flows similarly to a poem. He gives a great general overview of each section with information about the poets and the effect of their writing during that time period. Overall this is an incredible anthology of African American poetry from so many different time periods. It has a mixture of well known and lesser-unknown poets and does an amazing job of featuring them all. Kevin Young put together an invaluable resource.

A wonderfully thorough and comprehensive compendium of some of the most important African-American poets of the past 250 years. The volume starts with Phillis Wheatley and branches out into so many wonderful writers. This book is fantastic for a college-level poetry course and a mandatory read for any poetry lover. Five stars!

African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song is a wonderful expression of everything that made me love literature starting in elementary school into adulthood. I owe my passion of books to many of the same poems in African American Poetry. Specifically, The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes a poem I have loved since my middle school years in Buffalo, NY. Many of the poems honor the culture, the music, the energy of New York, specifically New York City. This is a book to read and recite over dinner and wine, with friends and family during the holidays, and as a treasured moment with our children.

Thanks to #Netgalley for making this book available to me.
This is a collection of poems by African American poets who write about their experience living in American, their experience with racial inequality, motherhood, and the fear of raising children in a country infested with discrimination and marginalized profiling that leads to death of millions of sons and daughters.
I cannot express enough the importance of this book and the impression it made and I have also been introduced to a lot of new poets, one of them is Khadijah Queen whose prose addresses loss of the sense of self and that of family and the retention she wears to deflect from her problem in order to allow the focus to be moved to police brutality and the devastating effects it has on families and how sadness, tears, and marches are not an antidote or a treatment of pain experience for over 25o years.
There are so many poems that speak volumes about the black experience including those who were able to build things up from the ground and others whose hard work was overshadowed and burnt to the ground like it was in Tulsa.
There is a poem by Clint Smith that addresses the injustice that Colin Kaepernick was dealt with in his poem "Your National Anthem". A child will grow, he won't remain a boy that you think is cute, because someday he would begin to ask for his right to live, then he is threatening and not so cute anymore.
I also really enjoyed Yusef Komunyakaa's poems such as "Annabelle" and "More Girl Than Boy" there is also Carl Phillips's poem "Blue" which struck a chord with me.
I hope you check this book out upon its release.