Books like The New Black by Evie Shockley

Alice Walker's 1982 novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, exploring the lives of black women in the South and their experiences of abuse and struggle for independence.

James Baldwin’s first nonfiction collection, “Notes of a Native Son,” offers powerful essays on Harlem life, civil rights, and race relations that remain relevant today.

The Warmth of Other Suns is a non‑fiction study of the Great Migration, tracing the journey of nearly six million African Americans from the South to northern and western cities between 1915 and 1970.

Natasha Trethewey’s Poetic Reflection on Family and Race in America

Gwendolyn Brooks’ "Selected Poems (P.S.)" gathers key verses from her earlier collections – "A Street in Bronzeville," "Annie Allen," and "The Bean Eaters" – alongside new selections, showcasing her acclaimed African‑American poetic voice.

In 'Semiautomatic,' Evie Shockley examines everyday life and confronts race‑ and gender‑based violence through incisive, contemporary American poetry.

**2014 da Vinci Eye Finalist** **ForeWord Reviews‘ 2012 Book of the Year Award Finalist** **2013 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Finalist** “The message in the so-sick-it muse ic is all on the cover, O’Jays style. The bills are pressing but this book (a We) can help you (Now!) gain a stamp of heritage, your own postal traveling shoes, in the office of International (if not Domestic) Acceptance especially if the real tradition, a mature Langston Hughes in a hat, frames your introduction.” —*Boston Review* “Hand feels Simone’s life as if she herself is living it; as if Simone’s ghosts have leapt into her—and she makes artful poems as their hearts beat in her own body.” —*The Mom Egg* “Hand varies the form and voices in her poems deftly into a contemporary blues that speaks to a woman’s creative challenges within the streams of family that flows in unpredictable rhythms.” —*On the Seawall* “…like ‘two souls in a duet.'” —*Library Journal* “When a poem is good, I feel it in my body…a commotion in my pit…this is a collection of commotion.” —*Yes, Poetry* “Monica A. Hand’s *me and Nina* is a beautiful book by a soul survivor. In these poems she sings deep songs of violated intimacy and the hard work of repair. The poems are unsentimental, blood-red, and positively true, note for note, like the singing of Nina Simone herself. Hand has written a moving, deeply satisfying, and unforgettable book.” —Elizabeth Alexander “In *me and Nina* Monica A. Hand depicts, as Nina Simone did, what it is to be gifted and Black in America. She shifts dynamically through voices and forms homemade, received and re-imagined to conjure the music (and Muses) of art and experience. This is a debut fiercely illuminated by declaration and song.” —Terrance Hayes “Monica A. Hand sings us a crushed velvet requiem of Nina Simone. She plumbs Nina’s mysterious bluesline while recounting the scars of her own overcoming. Hand joins the chorus of shouters like Patricia Smith and Wanda Coleman in this searchlight of a book, bearing her voice like a torch for all we’ve gained and lost in the heat of good song.” ―Tyehimba Jess

Elizabeth Alexander’s anthology weaves poetry that spans American cities, eras, and the worlds of dreamscapes, addressing themes of race, gender, politics, motherhood, and civil rights.

Black Swan is a poetry collection by Lyrae Van Clief‑Stefanon that blends vernacular diction with classical mythology and biblical themes, giving voice to silenced women across time and space.

A bold exploration of pregnancy, childbirth, and artistic expression through verse, prose, and dialogue.

A collection of poems by Maya Angelou, capturing the pain and triumph of being black and speaking out about history, heartbreak, and love.

Lucille Clifton’s "Quilting" weaves a lyrical tapestry of birth, death, children, community, history, sexuality, and spirituality, delivering sharp rhythms, striking syntax, and an intimate, passionate voice.

A poetic tribute celebrating the extraordinary spirit of ordinary African‑American women, written by Maya Angelou and illustrated by a celebrated collaborator.

Anjail Rashida Ahmad's powerful exploration of African American women's heritage and pride in language and tradition.

"Destined to become the first published woman of African descent, Phillis Wheatley was born around 1753. She was taken by the slave ship Phillis to Boston in 1761 and bought by John and Susanna Wheatley. The Wheatleys provided her with an education that was unusual for a woman of the time and astonishing for a slave. Phillis published her first poem in 1767, around the age of fourteen, and won much public attention and considerable international fame before she was twenty years old."--BOOK JACKET.