African-American Firsts: Literature
Novelist: Harriet Wilson, Our Nig (1859).
Poet: Lucy Terry, 1746, “Bar’s Fight.” It is her only surviving poem.
Poet (published): Phillis Wheatley, 1773, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Considered the founder of African-American literature.
Pulitzer Prize winner: Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950, won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry.
Pulitzer Prize winner in Drama: Charles Gordone, 1970, for his play No Place To Be Somebody.
Nobel Prize for Literature winner: Toni Morrison, 1993.
Poet Laureate: Robert Hayden, 1976–1978; first black woman Poet Laureate: Rita Dove, 1993–1995
