The Heart as Ever Green. In these two volumes of
poems, which are autobiographical, Rodgers is less
concerned with the overt BLACK NATIONALIST ideas
that served as a major thrust of the Black Arts
Movement. The poems focus on issues pertaining
to God, religion, and feminism. Rodgers published
two more volumes of poetry, Translation (1980)
and Other Poems (1983).
The central issues Rodgers raises in several of
her poems continue to resonate in discussions of
African-American literature and culture. For ex-
ample, “It Is Deep” is concerned with generational
conflicts. Recognizing the differences between her
own perspectives and those of an older generation
of blacks, the young speaker eventually acknowl-
edges the older generation as a “sturdy Black bridge
that I / crossed over, on.” Similarly, Rodgers’s “The
Last M.F.” is concerned with complex struggles,
specifically those of an African-American woman
poet working within the context of a Black Na-
tionalist movement that promotes traditional and
restrictive views of women. In this poem, Rodg-
ers humorously explains that, within the context
of “the new Black Womanhood,” “Black Men” en-
courage women to become or remain reserved and
respectful. Ironically and purposefully, throughout
the poem Rodgers’s speaker uses the word “muth-
afuckas,” proclaiming she will not use this term
anymore. Finally, in “Poems for Malcolm,” which
memorializes MALCOLM X, Rodgers contributes
to the larger body of commemoration and “call”
poems, making repeated calls for the production
and publication of more black poems.
In addition to her poetry, Rodgers published
short stories and essays. A series of her writings
on black poetry and poetics appeared in Negro
Digest/Black World between 1969 and 1971. Rod-
gers’s essays, especially “Black Poetry—Where It’s
At,” describes the methods and practices that char-
acterized the poetry of the Black Arts Movement.
Utilizing African-American vernacular–based
terms to explain the shape and function of 1960s
and 1970s black poetry, Rodgers’s essays provide
an example of African-American literary criticism
that is both intellectual and accessible. Moreover,
as literary critic Jerry Ward has explained, Caro-
lyn Rodgers’s articles provide “prototypes for the
thinking” in more recent and well-known African-
American literary scholarship, including works by
HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., and HOUSTON A. BAKER, JR.
Indeed, Rodgers offered innovative yet grounded
models for pursing black literary criticism.
Although she continued to write after the
1970s, reprints and discussions of Rodgers’s poetry
in anthologies and critical studies suggest that her
best-known contributions were made during the
Black Arts Movement. Her poetic descriptions of
African-Americans and women’s experiences, as
well as her creative approaches to literary criticism,
offer promising ideas about the vitality of BLACK
AESTHETIC theories and the new black poetry.
Rodgers’s focus on topics such as black liberation,
culture, women, music, and religion allowed her to
address ideas and issues firmly rooted within the
tradition of African-American literature.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Parker-Smith, Bettye J. “Running Wild in her Soul:
The Poetry of Carolyn Rodgers.” In Black Women
Writers (1950–1980): A Critical Evaluation, edited
by Mari Evans, 393–410. Garden City, N.Y.: An-
chor/Doubleday, 1984.
Ward, Jerry W. “Literacy and Criticism: The Example
of Carolyn Rodgers.” Drumvoices Revue 4, no. 1–2
(Fall–Winter 1994–95): 62–65.
Howard Rambsy IIRoss, Frances Delores (1935–1985)
The only daughter of Gerald Ross, a welder from
Littleton, North Carolina, and Bernetta Bass Ross,
a store clerk from Petersburg, Virginia, Ross was
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she grew
up on Pearl Street in a loving and religious family
that included her two younger brothers, Gerald
Ross, Jr., and Richard Ross, as well as her mater-
nal grandmother, Lena Bass Nelson. During her
teens, Ross accompanied her grandmother to the
home of her wealthy employer where her grand-
mother worked as a domestic. During the sum-
mers, she also spent time with her grandmotherRoss, Frances Delores 439