2.  Either born in New York, Baltimore or
Kentucky
 Abandoned by his mother
 Did well in poetry contests during school
 Attended NYU and Harvard
 Many of his poems deal with a racist society

3.  Born on campus of Howard University
 Grew up on a farm
 Father was a former slave
 Taught at Lincoln and Fisk University
 Published first book, “Southern Road”
speaking highly of poor black folks

4.  Born and raised in Detroit
 Researched black history and culture in the
Federal Writers Project, a New Deal program
 Focused on poetic form
 Became Consultant in Poetry to the Library of
Congress in Washington DC

5.  Born in Kansas, moved to Chicago as a kid
 Dealt with racial prejudice from a young age
 Poetry ranged in all styles
 Taught creative writing at several colleges and
universities

6.  Born in Lawrence, Kansas
 Parents were separated
 Elected class poet in school because „Negroes
have rhythm‟
 Discovered his love of books while writing for
the school newspaper
 Had a very poor relationship with his father
 Some believed he was homosexual

7.  “Mother to Son”, “Theme for English B”, and
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes
 “Common Dust” and “The Heart of a Woman”
by Georgia Douglas Johnson
 “From the Dark Tower” and “To Certain
Critics” by Countee Cullen