Black Poetry after the Black Arts Movement

FAIN: EH-50446-14

University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. (Lawrence, KS 66045-3101)
Maryemma Graham (Project Director: March 2014 to June 2016)

A two-week college and university institute for twenty-five participants on African-American poetry from 1960 to the present.

"Don't Deny My Voice II: Black Poetry after the Black Arts Movement" (DDMV II), a 2-week Institute for college and university teachers, focuses on the explosion in contemporary black poetry and the multiple communities involved in its production and circulation. During a successful first Institute in 2013, we mapped the history and modal transformation of 20th-century African American poetry. In a second Institute, we will give more attention to explicating the concepts of "tradition and innovation, continuity and change" by looking at the form and function of contemporary black poetry, as more read, write and teach it. DDMV II is guided by an understanding that teachers have few resources for presenting modern African American poetry to their students. The Institute will enable 25 participants to develop a deep understanding of African American poetry after the Black Arts Movement, to explore the reasons for its global popularity and to engage in projects for teaching and research.