Must-Reads by African-American Writers
22 items ranked
This list provides a good starting point for readers who want to explore the unique literary traditions of African-American writers.
Click on up and down arrows to affect item's ranking
1.
Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas
47 points - added 13 years ago by redbarron80 -
2.
The three musketeers
Dumas
46 points - added 13 years ago by redbarron80 -
3.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – Frederick Douglass
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
4.
Some of Us Did Not Die – June Jordan
Jordan is actually a Caribbean-American writer, but her work is a powerful testament to and interrogation of black experience in the U.S.
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
5.
Passing – Nella Larson
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
6.
My Soul’s High Song – Countee Cullen
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
7.
“I Have a Dream” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
8.
Neon Vernacular – Yusef Komunyaka
This book won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
0 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
9.
A Street in Bronzeville – Gwendolyn Brooks
-1 point - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
10.
Blessing the Boats – Lucille Clifton
-1 point - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
11.
The Souls of Black Folk – W. E. B. DuBois
-3 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
12.
The Weary Blues – Langston Hughes
Hughes was one of the forerunners of Harlem Renaissance in the early 20th century, practically inventing “jazz poetry.”
-3 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
13.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
-3 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
14.
Up from Slavery – Booker T. Washington
Pairing this autobiography with DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk will bring you right into the debate about African-Americans’ position in US society at the turn of the 20th century.
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
15.
Go Tell It On the Mountain – James Baldwin
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
16.
Invisible Man – Ralph Waldo Ellison
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
17.
Thomas and Beulah – Rita Dove
Dove received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987 for this collection.
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
18.
Cane – Jean Toomer
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
19.
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
20.
Beloved – Toni Morrison
If you read only one novel by Morrison, make it this one. And then move on to The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon.
-4 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
21.
Black Boy – Richard Wright
-6 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
22.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Malcolm X
-18 points - added 14 years ago by phdlist -
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