2 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
work include The Selected Poetry of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones (1979) and the vol-
ume of essays The Essence of Reparations (2003).
Lucille Clifton (1936–2010)
Poet known especially for her female-centered verse, collected in more than
a dozen volumes. Her Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems, 1988–2000,
appeared in 2000. In 2007 Clifton won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a $100,000
award honoring a living U.S. poet whose “lifetime accomplishments warrant
extraordinary recognition.”
Samuel Delany (1942– )
Novelist, critic, and memoirist. Most of his novels are in the science-fiction and
fantasy genres; among the most popular are Dhalgren (1975) and the four-volume
Return to Nevèrÿon series (1979–1987). His autobiography, The Motion of Light
in Water (1988), recounts his life as a gay, black, dyslexic writer and received the
Hugo Award.
Trey Ellis (1962– )
Novelist, essayist, memoirist, and blogger. His novel Right Here, Right Now
(1999) received an American Book Award. Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the
Land of Single-Fatherhood (2008) is a memoir of his life as a divorced father of
two children.
Nikki Giovanni (1943– )
Poet, essayist, children’s author, and activist who began her career with the Black
Arts Movement. The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni was published in 2003.
Shirlee Taylor Haizlip (1937– )
Author of The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White (1994).
Alex Haley (1921–1992)
Novelist best known for Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976), loosely
based on the history of his own family. It was made into one of the most success-
ful miniseries in television history. He also collaborated on The Autobiography of
Malcolm X (1965), completing the work after Malcolm’s assassination.
E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009)
Best-selling novelist known for his works about closeted gay black men. His If This
World Were Mine (1998) won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence.
Charles Johnson (1948– )
Writer who began his career as a journalist and cartoonist before turning to
fiction. His novels include Faith and the Good Thing (1974), Oxherding (1982),
Middle Passage (1990), and Dreamer (1998). He is also the author of The Sorcerer’s
Apprentice: Tales of Conjurations (1985) and Being and Race: Black Writing since
1970 (1988).
Gayl Jones (1949– )
Novelist and literary critic whose best-known novels are Corregidora (1975), Eva’s
Man (1976), and The Healing (1998).