English 4322/5322 Black American Poetry, is a study of Black aesthetics. We will analyze the role of Black culture on Black poetry, most specifically music, vernacular language, history, folklore, and more. We will also discuss hip hop and spoken word poetry in the Black aesthetic tradition. Poets we will cover are: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, Ross Gay, Nikky Finney, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange and Haki Madhubuti. Selected readings will be posted to Moodle.