16 pages • 32 minutes read
Naomi Long MadgettLife
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Midway” by Naomi Long Madgett (1959)
“Midway” is one of Madgett’s more popular and well-known poems; it pertains to the Civil Rights Movement. In a comment Madgett added at the conclusion of the poem, she acknowledges that she wrote the poem in 1958, and it later appeared in Freedomways in 1959. While “Life” might have more of a pessimistic or defeated tone, “Midway” shares a message of motivation and progress despite life’s obstacles.
“Alabama Centennial” by Naomi Long Madgett (1965)
Just like “Midway,” this poem also focuses on the Civil Rights Movement. The poem first appeared in Madgett’s 1965 collection Star by Star. In her poem, Madgett’s speaker advocates for resistance and action in support of the American Dream for all.
“Cross” by Langston Hughes (1926)
Langston Hughes served as Madgett’s mentor from when she was a teenager, so it is only fitting that one of his poems is included for further reading. “Cross” was first published in Hughes’s first collection of poetry, The Weary Blues (1926). This particular work shows how Hughes also took race and the ensuing effects of prejudice as a point of focus; in the text, the speaker muses about his place in society with a white father and a Black mother.
“Daybreak in Alabama” by Langston Hughes (1940)
Hughes’s poem first appeared in Unquote in 1940. This text centering on Alabama contrasts with Madgett’s described above. While Madgett’s poem could be classified as a call to action through resistance and protest, Hughes’s poem is more hopeful and optimistic, painting a picture of unity amongst all people.
Further Literary Resources
“‘Everything is Here and Now’: The Polyvocal Poetry of Naomi Long Madgett” by Morgan Leigh McComb (2019)
McComb seeks to shed new light on Madgett and her work by placing the poet within the context of the Black Arts Movement and the Womanist literary movement. By looking specifically at Madgett’s poem “Newblack,” McComb shows how Madgett “explores the tension between the Black Arts Movement’s determinations for what qualifies as Black art and the individual perspectives and directives of the artist.” McComb likewise connects Madgett’s work to the New Black Aesthetic Movement that took place in the 1980s and 1990s. By highlighting similarities between Madgett’s work and other texts, McComb brings to light the connections shared among these Black women writers, who have historically been underrepresented.
“Detroit’s Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett named 2012 Kresge Eminent Artist” by The Kresge Foundation (2012)
Posted on the Kresge Foundation’s website, the article relates Madgett’s selection as the 2012 Kresge Eminent Artist. The award “recognize[s] Madgett’s decades of commitment to originating, illuminating, and preserving poetry by African-Americans, and promoting the study and appreciation of African-American literature in schools and universities.” The Kresge Eminent Artist award promotes arts and culture in the city of Detroit and is awarded by the College for Creative Studies in Detroit through the generosity of the Kresge Foundation.
“Women’s History Month: Naomi Long Madgett” by Mona Ahmed (2019)
Ahmed’s article is part of The Project on the History of Black Writing through the University of Kansas. In the article, Ahmed provides biographical information about Madgett and details regarding her publications. There are also some direct quotes from Madgett reflecting on her own writing.
