Black Wordsmiths: Black Musicians & Poets in the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ÊÓƵ Library Collection

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"BLK History Month" by Nikki Giovanni. If Black History Month is not viable then wind does not carry the seeds and drop them on fertile ground rain does not dampen the land and encourage the seeds to root sun does not warm the earth and kiss the seedlings and tell them plain: You’re As Good As Anybody Else You’ve Got A Place Here, Too

This week's Black History Month post highlights Black creators in poetry and music, including pop, hip hop, rap, punk, and rock. This is only a small selection of our collection, so stop by and browse our digital collections from your own computer or stop in and browse our shelves.

Updated 2/15/2023: Want some poetry bookmarks? Go to the end of the post!


Interested in learning how to make your own music using only a laptop? Check out this awesome event through the Wake County Public Libraries featuring Durham's Pierce Freelon.

Hip Hop Beat Making with Pierce Freelon, Saturday, February 25 from 4:00-5:00 PM at the Oberlin Regional Library (1930 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27605). Registration is requested and free.

Explore music production and entrepreneurship by learning how to compose, sample, and write a song using only a laptop with Grammy-nominated musician and co-creator of PBS's .

Be sure to check out the other Black History Month events through the .


Histories, essays, graphic nonfiction, and memoirs-- the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ÊÓƵ Library has many exciting books and audiobooks on Black musical history and musicians.

See -- hint: similar items are grouped together by call number, the link in the caption. (Spoiler: That's the hot tip, but last week's post has a picture.)

We also have awesome music documentaries in the Main Campus DVD collection. Browse it at the bottom of the staircase in the Main Campus Library near the instruction computer lab.


Here are just a few of the many exceptional books of poetry in the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ÊÓƵ Library by contemporary Black poets--

And very small selection of our Black poetry collections--


To see poetry in action, PBS's Poetry in America series highlights and discusses "unforgettable" American poems.

poetry in america black poets: gwendolyn brooks, langston hughes, nas, and evie shockley

Check out the episodes on and streaming through the Films on Demand database (off-campus users log in with your Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ÊÓƵ username and password). For additional resources, go to .


from the Library's annual poetry bookmark collection (for Poetry Month in April). This set features an excerpt from "In This Place (An American Lyric" by Amanda Gorman, "[Seven of the ten things I love in the face of James Baldwin]" by Terrance Hayes, "My Mother Enters the Workforce" by Rita Dove, "little prayer" by Danex Smith, and "for grandma" by NC Poet Laureate Jackie Shelton Green.

coloring bookmarks for Black History Month featuring Amanda Gorman, Terrance Hayes, Rita Dove, Danez Smith, and Jackie Shelton Green
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