I thought that with the recent Black Lives Matter movement, this was a good moment to share this poem, Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou.
Inspired by the recent RS newsletter, I realised the field of poetry, like philosophy, is predominately white, so it is very easy to fall into the trap of only reading the works of these poets. I have listed a few excellent Black and Ethnic Minority poets, and a couple of their poems, to keep on your radar.
Tracy K Smith – A Mans Word (Poem in which nobody says ‘I told you so’)
Maya Angelou – Still I rise and Caged Bird
Lenelle Moïse – Rite, Kissed there myself
Langston Hughes – I look at the world and Dream Deferred
Benjamin Zephaniah – Eat Your Words, Vegan Steven and Vegan Steven’s vegan clothes
John Agard – Listen Mr Oxford Don and Half-caste
Gwendolyn Brookes – We Real Cool (The Bean Eaters)
Jay Bernard – Kid moth and Hiss
Clemency (Year 12)
