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Collected Poems
Winner Gish Prize for Lifetime Achievement
A representative collection of the life work of the much-honored poet and a founder of the Black Arts movement, spanning the 4 decades of her literary career.
Gathering highlights from all of Sonia Sanchez’s poetry, this compilation is sure to inspire love and community engagement among her legions of fans. Beginning with her earliest work, including poems from her first volume, Homecoming (1969), through to 2019, the poet has collected her favorite work in all forms of verse, from Haiku to excerpts from book-length narratives. Her lifelong dedication to the causes of Black liberation, social equality, and women’s rights is evident throughout, as is her special attention to youth in poems addressed to children and young adults.
As Maya Angelou so aptly put it: “Sonia Sanchez is a lion in literature’s forest. When she writes she roars, and when she sleeps other creatures walk gingerly.”
A representative collection of the life work of the much-honored poet and a founder of the Black Arts movement, spanning the 4 decades of her literary career.
Gathering highlights from all of Sonia Sanchez’s poetry, this compilation is sure to inspire love and community engagement among her legions of fans. Beginning with her earliest work, including poems from her first volume, Homecoming (1969), through to 2019, the poet has collected her favorite work in all forms of verse, from Haiku to excerpts from book-length narratives. Her lifelong dedication to the causes of Black liberation, social equality, and women’s rights is evident throughout, as is her special attention to youth in poems addressed to children and young adults.
As Maya Angelou so aptly put it: “Sonia Sanchez is a lion in literature’s forest. When she writes she roars, and when she sleeps other creatures walk gingerly.”
- GenresPoetryFemale Authors
424 pages, Hardcover
First published April 13, 2021
37 people are currently reading
1593 people want to read
About the author
Sonia Sanchez
118 books458 followersSonia Sanchez was born Wilsonia Benita Driver on September 9, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama. After her mother died in childbirth a year later, Sanchez lived with her paternal grandmother and other relatives for several years. In 1943, she moved to Harlem with her sister to live with their father and his third wife.
She earned a B.A. in political science from Hunter College in 1955. She also did postgraduate work at New York University and studied poetry with Louise Bogan. Sanchez formed a writers' workshop in Greenwich Village, attended by such poets as Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Haki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee), and Larry Neal. Along with Madhubuti, Nikki Giovanni, and Etheridge Knight, she formed the "Broadside Quartet" of young poets, introduced and promoted by Dudley Randall.
She earned a B.A. in political science from Hunter College in 1955. She also did postgraduate work at New York University and studied poetry with Louise Bogan. Sanchez formed a writers' workshop in Greenwich Village, attended by such poets as Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), Haki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee), and Larry Neal. Along with Madhubuti, Nikki Giovanni, and Etheridge Knight, she formed the "Broadside Quartet" of young poets, introduced and promoted by Dudley Randall.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 30, 2024
It’s Sonia Sanchez! And so any collection containing her words is well worth the time. The only reason it falls short of 5⭐️’s is the lack of information around the collection. No dates or background about the poems or at the very least editorial pages about the various books from which these wonderful words spring. I get that adding editorial content would take this from 403 pages to north of 600. So I get it, but it leaves me at 4⭐️
April 8, 2022
First of all, Sonia Sanchez's poetry is incredible and everyone should read it. The reason I give this specific text three stars is that, for a collected, it feels remarkably lacking. Each section is only a portion of her different books. There is no editorial context for any of her poetry, including dates. And there isn't even an intro or afterword. I hope someone gives Sanchez the respect she deserves in a future edition.
June 11, 2021
Sonia Sanchez’s COLLECTED POEMS reminded me of so many other classic Black writers, especially the ones she mentioned in several of her poems. Her writing is an extension of Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison. Or at least those of the vibes I got from reading her poems.
I will say I feel conflicted about this collection, simply because I’m not too familiar with her past work. Though her writing is exceptionally gorgeous, I think I would have connected more to this book had I read her previous books. Since it’s a collection of poems from her early and recent years, I wasn’t able to get a sense of a narrative arc that I do when really a regular poetry collection (but I don’t fault this book for it since it seems to reach readers who are familiar with Sanchez’s body of work).
Overall, I would still recommend this book to people as it made me more interested in Sanchez and her work.
These are the poems that stood out to me the most:
“nigger”
“on watching a World Series game”
“sunday /evening at gwen’s”
“to P.J. (2 yrs old who sed write a poem for me in Portland, Oregon)”
“Dear Mama”
“Bubba”
“Wounded in the House of a Friend”
“This is Not a Small Voice”
I will say I feel conflicted about this collection, simply because I’m not too familiar with her past work. Though her writing is exceptionally gorgeous, I think I would have connected more to this book had I read her previous books. Since it’s a collection of poems from her early and recent years, I wasn’t able to get a sense of a narrative arc that I do when really a regular poetry collection (but I don’t fault this book for it since it seems to reach readers who are familiar with Sanchez’s body of work).
Overall, I would still recommend this book to people as it made me more interested in Sanchez and her work.
These are the poems that stood out to me the most:
“nigger”
“on watching a World Series game”
“sunday /evening at gwen’s”
“to P.J. (2 yrs old who sed write a poem for me in Portland, Oregon)”
“Dear Mama”
“Bubba”
“Wounded in the House of a Friend”
“This is Not a Small Voice”
February 15, 2025
4 ⭐️ the haiku portion was my favorite so I’ll deliver my review in that form:
Sanchez spoke, I heard.
Some lines danced inside my head,
some just took a nap.
Sharp, powerful words,
but not all could grab my heart—
four stars felt just right.
Sanchez spoke, I heard.
Some lines danced inside my head,
some just took a nap.
Sharp, powerful words,
but not all could grab my heart—
four stars felt just right.
March 26, 2022
"Let her be. She got a right to be different. She gonna stumble on herself one of these days. Just let the child be."
Sanchez is the embodiment of poetic. She's a very talented writer, only reason I didn't give it five stars is because some of the poems I didn't understand. But that has nothing to do with her, its more of a me problem.
Sanchez is the embodiment of poetic. She's a very talented writer, only reason I didn't give it five stars is because some of the poems I didn't understand. But that has nothing to do with her, its more of a me problem.
May 5, 2021
My introduction to the phenomenal Sonia Sanchez.
I won this book through a Goodreads & Beacon Press giveaway and was thrilled to finally read the works of Sonia Sanchez. I know, I know, I’m late to the party but I have arrived. One poem that stood out in particular is, “Poems for Some Women.” My God! This specific poem about a mother who takes her daughter to the crack house is so incredibly moving. It broke me in pieces. I rushed over to YouTube to watch Sonia perform it live. I recommend the book off this poem, alone.
All in all, I enjoyed the collection but I can definitely tell you it’s not for everyone. Don’t knock it if you’re not the intended audience.
I won this book through a Goodreads & Beacon Press giveaway and was thrilled to finally read the works of Sonia Sanchez. I know, I know, I’m late to the party but I have arrived. One poem that stood out in particular is, “Poems for Some Women.” My God! This specific poem about a mother who takes her daughter to the crack house is so incredibly moving. It broke me in pieces. I rushed over to YouTube to watch Sonia perform it live. I recommend the book off this poem, alone.
All in all, I enjoyed the collection but I can definitely tell you it’s not for everyone. Don’t knock it if you’re not the intended audience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2021
Excellent collection. Sanchez’s pen is a sword, a sweet smile, a loving slap on the back, a needed smack to the back of the head, a sturdy rock, a rolling river… she’s dope as hell.
I especially enjoyed her haikus. Thank u Sonia Sanchez for sharing your voice with us
I especially enjoyed her haikus. Thank u Sonia Sanchez for sharing your voice with us
August 6, 2021
Sanchez’s verses illuminate off the page like lightning. She composes accessible poems that are mostly unadorned, but they strike with a force of vitality that remains vivid in your mind long after reading them. Below are a snippet of verses from this comprehensive volume of Sanchez’s blistering, trailblazing work.
In “malcolm,” she honors the fearlessness and courage of Malcolm X (aka El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and how the mark he made on America is essential for us to assess who we are and who we want to be as a community and as a country:
“he was the sun that tagged
the western sky and
melted tiger-scholars
while they searched for stripes.
he said, ‘fuck you white
man. we have been
curled too long. nothing
is sacred now. not your
white faces nor any
land that separates
until some voices
squat with spasms.’”
In “A Blk/Woman/Speaks,” she exalts and reverberates the pride and dignity of who she is and how she refuses to be silenced and erased:
“i am deep/blk/soil
they have tried to pollute me
with a poison called America.”
And by the end of that poem, she goes on to further declare her vitality and humanity as a proud, dignified Black American woman:
“as i bring forth green songs
from a seasoned breast
as i burn on our evening bed
of revolution.
i, being blk
woooOOOMAN
know only the way of the womb
for i am deep/red/soil
for our emergen Blk Nation.”
From her 26-part poem “Haiku and Tanka for Harriet Tubman,” I selected four of the verses that offer a sample of her reverence for the immortal General Tubman:
“3
Picture her rotating
the earth into a shape
of live becoming . . .”
“5
Picture this woman
saying no to the constant
yes of slavery . . .”
“21
Picture this woman
freedom bound . . . tasting a
people’s preserved breath . . .”
“23
Picture her walking,
running, reviving
a country’s breath . . .”
In “malcolm,” she honors the fearlessness and courage of Malcolm X (aka El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) and how the mark he made on America is essential for us to assess who we are and who we want to be as a community and as a country:
“he was the sun that tagged
the western sky and
melted tiger-scholars
while they searched for stripes.
he said, ‘fuck you white
man. we have been
curled too long. nothing
is sacred now. not your
white faces nor any
land that separates
until some voices
squat with spasms.’”
In “A Blk/Woman/Speaks,” she exalts and reverberates the pride and dignity of who she is and how she refuses to be silenced and erased:
“i am deep/blk/soil
they have tried to pollute me
with a poison called America.”
And by the end of that poem, she goes on to further declare her vitality and humanity as a proud, dignified Black American woman:
“as i bring forth green songs
from a seasoned breast
as i burn on our evening bed
of revolution.
i, being blk
woooOOOMAN
know only the way of the womb
for i am deep/red/soil
for our emergen Blk Nation.”
From her 26-part poem “Haiku and Tanka for Harriet Tubman,” I selected four of the verses that offer a sample of her reverence for the immortal General Tubman:
“3
Picture her rotating
the earth into a shape
of live becoming . . .”
“5
Picture this woman
saying no to the constant
yes of slavery . . .”
“21
Picture this woman
freedom bound . . . tasting a
people’s preserved breath . . .”
“23
Picture her walking,
running, reviving
a country’s breath . . .”
December 30, 2022
I spent several weeks pouring over the poems contained in this book for an art exhibit I was helping to curate for the reading room at the library where I work. The artist. Terrance Cummings, had written to Ms. Sanchez and gained permission to use her poetry to accompany his artwork for a show called "Manifesting Love" and my task was to find 12 poems that would capture the essence of his work and the theme of the show.
I had read some of Sonia Sanchez's poetry before and even had the chance to see her read once at a conference, but this was the first time I really sat and studied her body of work. This collected volume of poetry is awe-inspiring and winnowing down the poems to a final 12 to match the art was no easy task.
The poetry is 5 stars, but the book (as a collected volume) is a bit lacking. I wish it had introductory text, biographical information and additional context as is often found in volumes of collected poetry. So, the 4 stars is not a reflection on the poetry, but rather the book itself.
I had read some of Sonia Sanchez's poetry before and even had the chance to see her read once at a conference, but this was the first time I really sat and studied her body of work. This collected volume of poetry is awe-inspiring and winnowing down the poems to a final 12 to match the art was no easy task.
The poetry is 5 stars, but the book (as a collected volume) is a bit lacking. I wish it had introductory text, biographical information and additional context as is often found in volumes of collected poetry. So, the 4 stars is not a reflection on the poetry, but rather the book itself.
May 23, 2021
For a brief spell earlier this year, Sonia Sanchez seemed to suddenly be everywhere I turned: reading at the virtual launch party for the Winter 2021 Boston Review issue about Ancestors; interviewed on-camera by Philly-based documentary filmmaker Ephraim Asili for his outstanding feature debut, The Inheritance; and now, bestowed with the honor of a Collected Poems from longtime publisher Beacon Press.
I have only one, truly minor, complaint about this book. I was a bit intimidated when I opened up my copy and saw none of the editorial apparatus I expect in a collected poems: No introduction, no notes, no dates, no index of titles or first lines. There is literally nothing here but poems. But what poems! And what a poet. Mama Sonia's voice is so welcoming, and the world she creates is such an inviting place to dwell, that I didn't miss my precious editorial apparatus (jeeez what an ugly phrase!) for long.
I have only one, truly minor, complaint about this book. I was a bit intimidated when I opened up my copy and saw none of the editorial apparatus I expect in a collected poems: No introduction, no notes, no dates, no index of titles or first lines. There is literally nothing here but poems. But what poems! And what a poet. Mama Sonia's voice is so welcoming, and the world she creates is such an inviting place to dwell, that I didn't miss my precious editorial apparatus (jeeez what an ugly phrase!) for long.
April 26, 2021
-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through Goodreads giveaways in exchange for an honest review.-
I am definitely not the intended audience for this book. I have a completely different belief system than the author. It is racist towards white people. There is an extremely disrespectful poem on police officers. Also, it is exceedingly sexual, cusses way too much, and supports overuse of drugs it sounds like.
The writing itself is very bad. I don't care for how the words are split up to have more impact. To me, it just disconcerts the poems. It seems the author only had one poem and tried to write a whole book recycling that poem. All in all, this is so grotesque it is hard to believe someone made the decision to publish this.
I am definitely not the intended audience for this book. I have a completely different belief system than the author. It is racist towards white people. There is an extremely disrespectful poem on police officers. Also, it is exceedingly sexual, cusses way too much, and supports overuse of drugs it sounds like.
The writing itself is very bad. I don't care for how the words are split up to have more impact. To me, it just disconcerts the poems. It seems the author only had one poem and tried to write a whole book recycling that poem. All in all, this is so grotesque it is hard to believe someone made the decision to publish this.
May 3, 2022
A Beautiful collection of Sonia Sanchez's poems!
I love this type of poetry, and I loved this collection!
Sonia's poems are powerful and emotional, they are raw and real, and they are everything I was hoping for.
Sonia does not hesitate to write about harsh topics, or things that are ugly. She writes about them in their full painful truth, and acknowledges issues. She pays homage to the wonderful poets that came before her, in great ways.
Her poems address real life issues, and struggles, especially ones that are of greater issue to POC. Which I think is great, because it seems to be a never-ending fight.
If you have any interest in this book, pick it up and give it a go! I think you'll love it!
I love this type of poetry, and I loved this collection!
Sonia's poems are powerful and emotional, they are raw and real, and they are everything I was hoping for.
Sonia does not hesitate to write about harsh topics, or things that are ugly. She writes about them in their full painful truth, and acknowledges issues. She pays homage to the wonderful poets that came before her, in great ways.
Her poems address real life issues, and struggles, especially ones that are of greater issue to POC. Which I think is great, because it seems to be a never-ending fight.
If you have any interest in this book, pick it up and give it a go! I think you'll love it!
October 8, 2021
This is a beautiful volume, and I was grateful to read the breadth of the poet's work, from her earliest days as a young poet/activist to her more recent work, still as an activist, but with her focus broadening, her calls for justice widening. Not all of the work is social justice poetry. She explores love and grief and lust and anger, often with a sense of playfulness. She explores Japanese forms quite a bit: haiku, tanka, haibun, etc. Some of these micro poems are exceptional, but I preferred her longer verse.
November 26, 2021
CW: Sexual Assault and Death. This poetry collection is full of beauty, pain, hope, and lament.There were poems about a variety of topics and experiences including black people making a difference in their communities, about growing up, about love and betrayal, and about everyday life. There also were several poems recognizing folks for their contributions including Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Tupac This collection is nuanced and powerful and I wish this poetry had been presented to me during my high school or college experience.
February 20, 2024
After witnessing your presence at the MacDowell Medal Day in your honor, I had to read your fiery poetry! It took me a while to rifle through an unknown subject matter, poetry, and I stuck it out til the end and loved hearing your courageous personality. You are a rock star! Thank you for your love of words. So inspired me to look at our English language and juxtapose words differently. Thanks for you!
March 30, 2021
Inspiring
April 24, 2021
Thank you, Mama Sonia for the pop and sizzle of your words.
Highly recommended for poets and lovers of language.
Highly recommended for poets and lovers of language.
June 9, 2021
Very interesting poems
January 24, 2022
Beautiful, raw, and riveting. Sanchez wields language as no one else can. Each and every poem contained in this collection evokes thought and feeling. Highly recommend.
January 26, 2022
I really enjoyed this collection of poems.
March 1, 2023
I loved this.
May 19, 2024
Superb!!!
January 22, 2025
This collection of Sonia Sanchez’ poetry has a little something for everyone.
March 5, 2022
This collection of poetry is full of tributes to other famous people she knew.
It is full of haikus.
It captures moments in time with the rage and tragedy that they demand.
She is a pure genius.
And if you don’t take my word for it, Toni Morrison says so
“You have spoken for us. . . Written for us . . . Sung to us . . . How much in debt we are.” - Toni Morrison
This collection will leave an impression, it’s a compilation of 10 of her books.
A must have of any Sonia Sanchez fan.
It is full of haikus.
It captures moments in time with the rage and tragedy that they demand.
She is a pure genius.
And if you don’t take my word for it, Toni Morrison says so
“You have spoken for us. . . Written for us . . . Sung to us . . . How much in debt we are.” - Toni Morrison
This collection will leave an impression, it’s a compilation of 10 of her books.
A must have of any Sonia Sanchez fan.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews