African-American children’s poetry has a unique historical and sociological context in its traditions. From field songs to rap, the influence of the blues intersects with children’s literature, particularly children’s poetry to reveal both rhythmic and substantive elements of what we consider the blues. Using critics as various as Houston Baker, David Chinitz, and Kalamu Ya Salaam, we can see that the blues speaks volumes about what constitutes children’s literature as well as what aesthetic and societal values are transmitted. This presentation will examine some works by Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and other children’s poets to demonstrate how African-American children’s poetry contains and reflects a variety of experiences as well as expands our definitions of what constitutes children’s poetry.
About the presenterWynn William Yarbrough
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