Rambsy argues that the widespread recent use of persona poems by African American authors makes an examination of African American poetry in the context of autobiography especially timely. In the realm of poetry, Black writers have been integral to first-person portrayals of African American lives. An analysis of persona poems in relation to book-length volumes that concentrate on individual African American historical figures creates new scholarly possibilities. Indeed, book history and print culture studies concentrate on publications produced during the nineteenth century. Conversely, an examination of persona poems by Black poets reveals the viability of studying contemporary African American book history. This chapter addresses more than forty poets and sixty volumes of poetry and individual poems forming first-person narratives. Not comprehensive but focused, this study analyzes noteworthy contributions to the production of autobiographical narratives in African American poetry.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, black poets, literary critics, and theorists achieved an exceptional level of national visibility. Together, they produced a body of texts that exuded the spirit of Black Power self-determination and amplified the vibrant, versatile rhythms of African American expressive culture. Two books, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing (1968) edited by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) and Larry Neal (1937–81) and The Black Aesthetic (1971) edited by Addison Gayle (1932–91), exemplify the confluence of creative artists and intellectuals who committed themselves to generating a culturally distinct body of artistic productions for the benefit of black audiences. More broadly, considerations of the context in which Black Fire and The Black Aesthetic emerged confirm the degrees to which a militant, nationalist ethos, the development of a black-based evaluative system of arts, and the convergence of a variety of African American writers in common publishing outlets characterized the Black Arts era. On the one hand, poets, playwrights, fiction writers, and essayists composed works that celebrated African American culture, critiqued anti-black racism, and promoted black liberation. At the same time, anthologists, magazine editors, and publishers created or sustained venues for the wide transmission of black literary art.