The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry, Signed Harcourt Binding

Binding Details:  Custom leather binding by the Harcourt Bindery, Charlestown, Massachusetts bound in full morocco leather that has raised bands to the spine, gilt titling, and gilt ruling. There are marbled endpapers, hand-sewn silk headbands, and gold gilted top page ends. The Harcourt Bindery label appears on the bottom of the last free endpaper.

Book Details:  Published by the Oxford University Press in 2006, this is a first edition of The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry. From the publisher, “For over two centuries, black poets have created verse that captures the sorrows, joys, and triumphs of the African-American experience. Reflecting their variety of visions and styles, The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry aims to offer nothing less than a definitive literary portrait of a people.

Here are poems by writers as different as Paul Laurence Dunbar and W.E.B. Du Bois; Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes; Gwendolyn Brooks and Amiri Baraka; Rita Dove and Harryette Mullen; Yusef Komunyakaa and Nathaniel Mackey. Acclaimed as a biographer and editor, Arnold Rampersad groups these poems as meditations on key issues in black culture, including the idea of Africa; the South; slavery; protest and resistance; the black man, woman, and child; sexuality and love; music and religion; spirituality; death and transcendence.

With their often starkly contrasting visions and styles, these poets illuminate some of the more controversial and intimate aspects of the black American experience. Poetry here is not only or mainly a vehicle of protest but also an exploration of the complex and tender subtleties of black culture. One section offers tributes to celebrated leaders such as Sojourner Truth and Malcolm X, but many more reflect the heroism compelled by everyday black life. The variety of poetic forms and language captures the brilliant essence of English as mastered by black Americans dedicated to the art of poetry.

Loving and yet also honest and unsparing, The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry is for readers who treasure both poetry and the genius of black America.”

The book measures 9.25” x 6” with 424 pages and includes an introduction by Arnold Rampersad, biographies of the poets, and an index

Condition Report:  The binding is in FINE condition with a mark to the side page edges. Internally, the book is very clean with no signs of previous ownership.

A photograph of the binding appears in the photo section of the listing.