Review Essay: The Black Arts Movement and the Aesthetic Framing of 21st Century Anthologies of African American Poetry

Abstract

When considering anthologies of African American poetry in the 21st century, it is noteworthy how much the legacy of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s both positively and negatively shapes their aesthetic politics, framing, and reception. This essay considers how these anthologies use the Black Arts Movement to frame their version of Black poetry and the way they come at questions of literary and cultural lineage, the relationship of Black poetry to African American experience, and formal tradition and innovation.