Women's History Month: Sonia Sanchez

Black women have always played an important role in the history of the United States, often in the face of adversity. While their stories are often left out of the history books, there are a number of black women authors who have made significant contributions to American literature. IntellectualInk.com will highlight ten black women authors who have made a lasting impact on American culture. Today we honor Sonia Sanchez, and highlight "Shake Loose My Skin."

Sonia Sanchez born Wilsonia Benita Driver; on September 9, 1934, is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays, and children's books. In the 1960s, Sanchez released poems in periodicals targeted towards African-American audiences and published her debut collection, Homecoming, in 1969. In 1993, she received Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and in 2001 was awarded the Robert Frost Medal for her contributions to the canon of American poetry. ~ Wikipedia

An extraordinary retrospective covering over thirty years of work, From a leading writer of the Black Arts Movement and the American Poetry Society's 2018 Wallace Stevens Award–winner.

Shake Loose My Skin is a stunning testament to the literary, sensual, and political powers of the award-winning Sonia Sanchez.

...

there is no place

for a soft black/woman

there is no smile green enough or

summertime words warm enough to allow my growth

and in my head

I see my history

staring like a shy child