Black Icons of Literature and Poetry

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Across
  1. 5. Named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, he planned to be a composer before becoming a writer.
  2. 6. Earned fame after writing an elegy for preacher George Whitefield in 1770.
  3. 10. Anthropologist who recorded Southern Black folklore in Mules and Men
  4. 12. Named U.S. Poet Laureate in 1993, she was the youngest to hold the position at the time.
  5. 14. His mixed-race heritage heavily influenced the structure of *Cane*.
  6. 15. His novel *Banana Bottom* was one of the first to explore Caribbean identity.
  7. 16. His unpublished manuscript *Remember This House* inspired a 2016
  8. 19. He joined the Communist Party in 1933, which influenced his writing.
  9. 21. Her play *Les Blancs* critiques colonialism in Africa.
  10. 22. Wrote a column in the Chicago Defender introducing the character Jesse B. Semple.
  11. 23. Her poem 'We Real Cool' was first published in *Harper’s Magazine* in 1959.
  12. 25. Her lowercase pen name is a tribute to her grandmother Bell Blair Hooks.
  13. 26. He helped found the African Writers Series to promote postcolonial literature.
Down
  1. 1. Edited books by Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali before becoming a novelist.
  2. 2. Coined the term 'womanist' to describe Black feminism.
  3. 3. Awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for her contributions to children’s literature.
  4. 4. Penned a run of *Black Panther* comics that redefined the Marvel hero.
  5. 7. Her essay collection *Sister Outsider* critiques racism in second-wave feminism."
  6. 8. Her poem 'Knoxville, Tennessee' reflects her childhood summers.
  7. 9. play *Dutchman* earned an Obie Award in 1964.
  8. 11. Envisioned her *Parable* series as a blueprint for social and environmental survival.
  9. 13. Her debut novel spans seven generations across two continents.
  10. 17. documentary.
  11. 18. Her autobiography was nominated for a National Book Award in 1970.
  12. 20. His novel *The Intuitionist* blends speculative fiction with detective noir.
  13. 24. His first Easy Rawlins novel, *Devil in a Blue Dress*, was adapted into a 1995 film.