“A Poem for Ella Fitzgerald” by Sonia Sanchez (1998)

“A Poem for Ella Fitzgerald” is an “address poem”—Sanchez writes these to people she knew and did not know, famous people and family members. In this particular one, addressed to Ella Fitzgerald, the content and form blend, bringing out a musical quality in the verse and demonstrating Sanchez’s signature experimental style.

“Claiming Language, Claiming Art V” by Haki R. Madhubuti (2023)

Haki R. Madhubuti was a contemporary of Sanchez’s in the Black Arts Movement. His press, Third World Press, published her third book, Love Poems (1973). “Claiming Language, Claiming Art V” is dedicated to Dr. Joanne Gabbin, Founder and Executive Director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center. The poem is in two parts: “Furious” and “Flowers.” As in many of Sanchez’s poems, the speaker of this poem foregrounds their concern with the English language. In the first section, the speaker probes the tension between the English language, Black identity, and power, in the face of such contemporary concerns as climate change. In the second section, the speaker finds some resolution in lauding “the wonderfully engaged wordsmiths / and legendary artists often soloists of Black and tan images in short and long lines / that save and give lives” (Lines 7-9).