"The claim of The Black Poetsnbsp;nbsp;to being... an anthology is that itnbsp;nbsp;presents the full range of Black-American poetry,nbsp;nbsp;from the slave songs to the present day. It isnbsp;nbsp;important that folk poetry be included because it isnbsp;nbsp;the root and inspiration of later, literarynbsp;nbsp;poetry. Not only does this book present the full rangenbsp;nbsp;of Black poetry, but it presents most poets innbsp;nbsp;depths, and in some cases presents aspects of a poetnbsp;nbsp;neglected or overlooked before. Gwendolyn Brooksnbsp;nbsp;is represented not only by poems on racial andnbsp;nbsp;domestic themes, but is revealed as a writer ofnbsp;nbsp;superb love lyrics. Tuming away from White models andnbsp;nbsp;retuming to their roots has freed Black poets tonbsp;nbsp;create a new poetry. This book records theirnbsp;nbsp;progress."--from the Introduction by Dudleynbsp;nbsp;Randall