Books like Museum by Rita Dove

A collection of Maya Angelou's poetry celebrating life, strength, love, and remembrance.

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.

**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.

Evie Shockley’s *The New Black* blends formal verse with thoughtful reflections on African American identity, history, and the evolving experience of racism in contemporary America.

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.

Rita Dove’s *American Smooth* is a collection that blends rhythmic lyricism with vivid cultural imagery, celebrating American heritage through poetic forms.

Rita Dove’s new poetry collection examines how everyday lives intersect with African American civil‑rights history, weaving personal grief into the legacy of figures like Rosa Parks.

An anthology of twentieth-century American poetry, featuring Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hayden, Gwendolyn Brooks, Derek Walcott, Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, Anne Sexton, and many others.

Through the Ivory Gate follows Virginia King, a former puppeteer who returns to her Midwestern hometown as an artist‑in‑residence. Her work with schoolchildren unearths memories of a complex, racially charged upbringing, a college relationship with a mysterious musician, and revelations from an elderly aunt that challenge her sense of family and healing.

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.

Rita Dove’s poetic collection weaves the mythic bond between mother and daughter into lyrical exploration of love, identity, and legacy.

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

‘The Weary Blues’ by Langston Hughes is a landmark collection of early 20th‑century African‑American poems that blends jazz rhythms, soulful lyricism, and personal reflection on race and identity.