Black Authors Flashcards
● American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist
● Best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman)
● Born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, and had a difficult childhood, which she often channeled in her writing.
● Received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009.
Maya Angelou
● African American writer and poet who published his first short story at the age of 16.
● Found employment with the Federal Writers’ Project and received critical acclaim for Uncle Tom’s Children, a collection of four stories.
● Born on September 4, 1908, in Roxie, Mississippi, he only managed to get a
ninth-grade education, but he was a
voracious reader and showed early on that he had a way with words.
● Well-known for his 1940 bestseller Native Son and his 1945 autobiography, Black Boy.
Richard Wright
● Born on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York, died in February 1992.
● Served in the U.S. Coast Guard for two decades before pursuing a career as a
writer.
● Eventually directed a series of interviews for Playboy magazine and later co-authored The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
● Made history with his book Roots (won a Pulitzer Prize), which This Pulitzer
Prize-winning book was turned into a 1977 miniseries that became one of the most popular TV shows of all time. Major
controversy ensued, however, when Haley was accused of plagiarism and presenting historical and genealogical inaccuracies throughout the book, but Roots has
remained a groundbreaking work in the public imagination
Alex Haley
● Born in Alabama in 1891, key player in New York City’s Harlem Renaissance
● Most famous novels was Their Eyes Were Watching God and shorter work, “Sweat.”
● Folklorist and anthropologist who recorded cultural history, as illustrated by her Mules and Men. Hurston ● Died in poverty in 1960, before the second wave of interest led to recognition of her accomplishments, post death.
Zora Neale Hurston
● Born to sharecropper parents in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944
● Highly celebrated novelist, essayist, poet, and activist
● Best known for her 1982 novel The Color Purple, which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and soon was adapted for the big screen by Steven Spielberg
Alice Walker
● Born in Senegal/Gambia in about 1753, this poet was brought to Boston, Massachusetts, on a slave ship in 1761
● Her owners educated her and she soon mastered Latin and Greek, going on to write highly acclaimed poetry.
● Published her first poem in 1767 and her first volume of verse, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773.
● After being freed from slavery, she later married and struggled with money, and was unable to find a
publisher for her second volume of poems.
● Died in Boston on December 5, 1784.
Phillis Wheatley
● Born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, died at 34 of pancreatic cancer
● Wrote A Raisin in the Sun, a play about a struggling black family, which opened on Broadway to great success.
● First black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle award.
Lorraine Hansberry
Famed playwright, born on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died on Oct. 2, 2005, in Seattle Washington
● He wrote his first play, “Jitney”, in 1979.
● His other play, “Fences” earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987.
● Also won another Pulitzer Prize in 1990, for The Piano Lesson.
● In 1996, Seven Guitars premiered on the Broadway stage, followed by King Hedley II in 2001 and Gem of the Ocean in 2004.
August Wilson
● Born in 1924 in New York City, died in 1987 in France ● Published the 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, going on to gain approval for his insights on race, spirituality and humanity.
● Other novels included Giovanni’s Room, Another Country and Just Above My Head as well as essay works like Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time.
James Baldwin
● 1921-1967
● Published his first poem in 1921
● Attended Columbia University, but left after one year to travel. A leading light of the Harlem Renaissance, he published his first book in 1926. He went on to write countless works of poetry, prose and plays, as well as a popular column for the Chicago Defender.
Langston Hughes
● Born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio, died 2019
● Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, editor and professor; received Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 2012.
● Novels are known for their epic themes, exquisite language and richly detailed African American
characters who are central to their narratives.
● Best-known novels include: The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Jazz, Love and A Mercy
Toni Morrison
● Born on June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California, continued to write and publish until her death in
February 2006
● Studied at several universities and began her writing career in the 1970s.
● Her books blended elements of science fiction and African-American spiritualism.
● Her first novel, Patternmaster (1976), would become one of four in the Patternist series, and she went on to write several other novels, including Kindred (1979) as well as Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998), of the Parable series.
Octavia Butler
● This scholar and activist became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895.
● Best-known spokesperson for African American rights during the first half of the 20th century.
● Co-founded the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
WEB Du Bois
● Born on August 28, 1952 in Akron, Ohio ● Loved poetry and music from a young age. ● Invited to the White House as a Presidential Scholar out of high school
● Studied in Germany on a Fulbright
Scholarship, later teaching creative writing at Arizona State University.
● Has won numerous awards for her work, including a 1987 Pulitzer Prize for the book of poetry Thomas and Beulah.
● Other books include: Mother Love and Sonata Mulattica.
Rita Dove
● Poet, born on May 30, 1903, and was recognized as an award-winning poet by high school.
● Published his well-known debut volume of poetry, Color, in 1925,
● Other works: “Copper Sun” and “The Ballad of the Brown Girl”
● Also a noted novelist, playwright and children’s author ● Later worked as a high school teacher, and died on January 9, 1946.
Countee Cullen
