"A Jean Karl book."

A. James Weldon Johnson -- B. Dudley Randall -- C. Robert Hayden (Sojourner Truth poem) -- D. Countee Cullen -- E. Henry Dumas -- F. Langston Hughes ("Freedom") -- G. Anne Spencer -- H. Eloise Greenfield (Harriet Tubman) -- I. Raymond Patterson -- J. Rita Dove -- K. Gwendolyn Brooks -- L. Lucille Clifton -- M. Margaret Walker -- N. Owen Dodson -- O. Haki Madhubuti -- P. Nikki Giovanni -- Q. Maya Angelou -- R. Roll Jordan Roll: Black American Spiritual -- S. Samuel Allen (Satchel Paige -- T. Paul Laurence Dunbar -- U. Imamu Amiri Baraka -- V. Sterling Brown -- W. Mari Evans -- X. Audre Lorde -- Y. James Emanuel -- Z. Frank Marshall Davis

Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a line from a poem by different African American poets, describing an aspect of the black experience. Why an alphabet book of African American poets? Simply as a way of presenting the work of many poets, poets who write for adults as well as children, in a form that both children and adults can enjoy. Though this is not an alphabet book in the traditional sense, it is an A to Z look at twenty-five poems and one African American spiritual selected by Ashley Bryan from a wide range of African American poets. His selections are, for the most part, not complete poems, but fragments -- samples that are complete in their own way, and that inspired him to create pictures that capture the essence of the poetry in another form. his marvelous paintings, in tempera and gouache, are his salute to the twenty-five poets whose works are included. Well known for his story-telling, his picture books, his own poetry, and for his lectures on African American poetry, Ashley Bryan here gives readers of all ages a chance to share the joy he has experienced in the work of some of the poets he especially enjoys

Coretta Scott King Honor, illustrator, 1998

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