Sanchez, Sonia
1934-present · Contribution: 1969-present
Poetry, plays, and children's books; experimental verse that fuses blues and musical forms with haiku and tanka and renders Black English on the page; collections include 'Homecoming' (1969) and 'We a BaddDDD People' (1970)
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
A leading figure of the Black Arts Movement and a pioneer of Black studies curricula; won the American Book Award ('Homegirls and Handgrenades,' 1985), the Robert Frost Medal (2001), and the Wallace Stevens Award (2018); Philadelphia's first Poet Laureate (2012).
Life & background
African-American poet, playwright, and professor born Wilsonia Benita Driver on Sept 9, 1934 in Birmingham, AL. BA, Hunter College (1955); helped develop one of the first Black studies courses at San Francisco State. First Presidential Fellow and Laura Carnell Chair in English at Temple University.
Sources
- Poetry Foundation; Academy of American Poets; National Women's History Museum
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