Title: 10 Powerful Poems to Celebrate Black History Month - Read Poetry
Headings: 10 Powerful Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
10 Powerful Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
“Praise Song for the Day” by Elizabeth Alexander
“Heartbeats” by Melvin Dixon
“Canary” by Rita Dove
“A Brief History of Hostility” by Jamaal May
“History as Process” by Amiri Baraka
“Miz Rosa Rides the Bus” by Angela Jackson
“Afterimages” by Audre Lorde
“We Should Make a Documentary About Spades” by Terrence Hayes
“__________ my loved blacknesses & some blacknesses I knew” by Khadijah Queen
“Let American Be America Again” by Langston Hughes

Content: His poem “Heartbeats,” mimics the rhythm of a heartbeat while it provides intimate flashes of his struggles. “Canary” by Rita Dove
Known for her ability to mix elegant lyricism with political scope, Rita Dove’s impact on American poetry is immeasurable. In addition to being the youngest-ever US Poet Laureate, she’s a Pulitzer-Prize winner, recipient of a National Humanities Medal, and more. Her poem, “Canary” likens singer Billie Holiday to a caged bird. “ Fact is, the invention of women under siege / has been to sharpen the love in the service of myth,” writes Dove. “ If you can’t be free, be a mystery.” “A Brief History of Hostility” by Jamaal May
Detroit-based poet Jamaal May crafts a powerful breakdown of oppression in this poem. “ A Brief History of Hostility” is a five-part poem that takes on themes of life, fire, death, and the reach for peace through raging repetition and calculated rhythms. “ The war said let there be war / and there was war. / The war said let there be peace / and there was war,” writes May.
“History as Process” by Amiri Baraka
Perhaps one of the most subversive poets in American history, Amiri Baraka is well known for his provocative poetry style.