Voices Beyond Bondage

Voices Beyond Bondage: An Anthology of Verse by African Americans of the 19th Century, a collection of 150 poems culled from bourgeoning black-owned newspapers of the era, offers a fresh perspective on African American life and identity. These poems are not the work of a few elite literary masters but poems penned mostly by everyday people people who were thoughtful, insightful, and compelled to verse despite being born into a world of fundamental inequity. Whether these authors were formally schooled or self-taught, whether they were slaves, free peoples, or the descendants of slaves, these African Americans put ink to paper and declared their passions in verse. This exciting new volume rekindles the voice of those who have been all but overlooked in American literature. It presents new literary territory that is waiting to be explored by lovers of poetry and scholars of the African American experience alike.