Educate. Celebrate. Preserve.
Taking its name from a line in Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem, “The Second Sermon on the Warpland,” our academic center originated in the acclaimed 1994 Furious Flower Poetry Conference, the first major conference on African American poetry since the 1970s.
This is the archive of that first revolutionary conference.
Featured Poets
Gwendolyn Brooks
The first Black recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and the inspiration behind Furious Flower, Brooks is one of the highest regarded 20th-century poets.
Rita Dove
Widely acclaimed poet and author, Dove was the youngest person, and the first Black writer, to be appointed Poet Laureate of the United States.
Amiri Baraka
Prolific poet, playwright, and activist, Baraka co-founded the Congress of African People and was chief architect of the Black Arts Movement.
Explore All Poets
Collection Highlights
Themes
Interactive Program
Experience the 1994 Furious Flower Conference with our video-enabled interactive program.
Classroom
