assailed/ impervious/ indestructible/ Look on me and be/renewed." She is also well known for the line: "I have never been contained except I made the prison." Although she is primarily known for her poetry, Evans also wrote short fiction, children's books, dramas, nonfiction articles, and essays. She also edited the "ground-breaking anthology," Black Women Writers (1950–1980): A Critical Evaluation (1984), and wrote Clarity As Concept: A Poet's Perspective (2006), a collection of essays. Evans tackled social issues in her writing, even in her children's books. Dear Corinne, Tell Somebody! Love, Annie (1999), for example, is about child abuse and "I'm Late" (2006) deals with teen pregnancy. In 1975 Evans attended the MacDowell Writers Colony and in 1984 she attended the Yaddo writers retreat. Community service Mari Evans was an activist for prison reform, and was against capital punishment. She also worked with theater groups and local community organizations including Girls, Inc. of Greater Indianapolis and the Young Men's Christian Association. In addition, Evans volunteered in elementary and secondary schools. Personal life Evans, who was divorced and the mother of two sons, led a quiet life in Indianapolis. She enjoyed playing the piano and "was a fan of the Indiana Avenue jazz scene" during the 1940s and '50s. In addition, Evans was a member of Indianapolis's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, but attended Broadway United Methodist Church in her later years. Death and legacy Evans died in Indianapolis on March 10, 2017, at the age of ninety-seven. Funeral services were held at Saint Luke's Methodist Church in Indianapolis due to the large crowd that expected to attend. Evans was "often considered a key figure of the Black Arts Movement" and among the most influential of the twentieth century's black poets. Although she was well known in East Coast "literary circles," Evans and her poetry were not as well known in Indianapolis, where she lived for many years. A literary critic noted that Evans used "black idioms to communicate the authentic voice of the black community is a unique characteristic of her poetry." I Am a Black Woman (1970), her best-known poetry collection, won the Black Academy of Art and Letters First Poetry Award in 1975, and includes her best-known poem, "I Am a Black Woman." Black Women Writers (1950–1980): A Critical Evaluation, a collection of more than forty essays related to the literary contributions of fifteen women writers, including Evans, is