Across a turbulent history, Black poets created a rich and multifaceted tradition that has been both a reckoning with American realities and an imaginative response to them. One of the great American art forms, African American poetry encompasses many kinds of verse: formal, experimental, vernacular, lyric, and protest. The anthology opens with moving testaments to the power of poetry as a means of self-assertion, as enslaved people voice their passionate...

When America enters WWII in 1941, swing becomes a symbol of democracy and entertainers like Dave Brubeck, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw take their music to the armed forces overseas. In Nazi-occupied Europe, gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt blends jazz with his own musical traditions. In New York, Billie Holiday is unofficial queen despite a growing addiction to narcotics. Duke Ellington, assisted by the gifted young arranger, Billy Strayhorn, brings...

"In Seattle's upscale Blueridge neighborhood, James Sinclair, his wife Anne, and their two small boys are found brutally murdered in their home. Their bodies are carefully laid out: blindfolded, hands tied, and crosses drawn in blood across their foreheads. Above the bedroom door, the words thirteen days are scratched into the frame. At the same time, a card with the words thirteen days written on it is delivered to the office of powerful lawyer Nathan...

Includes "Green armor on green ground", 36 poems in Welsh meters, "Poems collected and new", a selection of more than 200 poems, and 26 new poems.

Representing the best Italian-American contributions to American literature, this anthology of fiction, poetry, journalistic writings, and essays ranges from the 1800s to the present day.