No poems were removed in the creation of the new edition, and the original thematic sections with their titles ('Like I Am,' 'Genealogy,' 'Shall Be Remembered,' etc.), plus drawings by Benny Andrews, were preserved. Includes an introduction by Rudine Sims Bishop, foreword by Nikki Giovanni, and afterword by Arnold Adoff, with notes for the poems and revised biographies of the poets (some of whom had died since the first edition) at the end. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans (Hardcover) (1997) Includes a foreword by Charlemae Rollins and preface by editor Arnold Adoff, with notes for the poems and biographies for the poets at the end. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by Negro Americans (Hardcover) (1968)

By framing the anthology as being specifically for youth and including some really interesting illustrations makes this collection even more worthwhile to study many years later.Ĭhrist, Goodreads, why can't you let me do what I want? In this case, why can't you let me log that I read two different editions of this book: The collection of poems is a strong reflection of the best poems of the time- with contributions from Amiri Baraka (under LeRoi Jones), Gwendolyn Brooks, Jean Toomer, and Mari Evans. Adoff's preface follows, which explains that 'this anthology was created to present good, interesting, and evocative poems by Negro Americans,' as 'There is a need for Negroes to know of and experience through the eyes of other Negroes how it has been and how it is to be a Negro in American, and for whites to become familiar with this part of their American heritage through the vision of life as Negroes in this country see it' (iv). I read the 1968 edition, so my reading of the poems were guided by Charlemae Rollins' foreword - which situates the 'dark-skinned child' as actively presenting 'a culture as spontaneous as it is unrecognized' in their city home, which Rollins argues is 'the environment which brings the greatest pressure and produces the greatest literature in our time' (ii).

I Am the Darker Brother by Arnold Adoff