Las Animas - Bent County Library District

Examines the life of the American poet and presents some of her poems.

Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, poet Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night--and discovered the magic and impact of writing. In this memoir in verse that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how...

"Arriving in Boston aboard a slave ship in 1761, Phillis Wheatley began what would eventually be a storied life in American. Primary sources bring to life the story of America's first African American female poet. Easy-to-read text highlights how Wheatley learned to speak English and to read and write. She even learned to read Latin. Soon she was writing poetry, but no one in Boston would publish her book because she was a slave. She had to look to...

In this memoir, singer-songwriter Patti Smith shares tales of New York City: the denizens of Max's Kansas City, the Hotel Chelsea, Scribner's, Brentano's and Strand bookstores and her new life in Brooklyn with a young man named Robert Mapplethorpe--the man who changed her life with his love, friendship, and genius.

An account of the author's childhood in a Texas oil town and of her family's struggles with cancer, madness, and alcoholism.

"A paradigm-shattering biography of Phillis Wheatley, whose poetry was at the heart of the American Revolution."--

"Mary-Alice Daniel's family moved from West Africa to England when she was a very young girl, leaving behind the vivid culture of her native land in the Nigerian savanna. They arrived to a blanched, cold world of prim suburbs and unfamiliar customs. So began her family's series of travels across three continents in search of places of belonging. A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing ventures through the physical and mythical landscapes of Daniel's...

Surveys the private life and literary accomplishments of the writer whose varied works reflect the traditions, feelings, and experiences of African Americans.

A biography of African American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks.