Sonia Sanchez

"Her poems manifest the spiritual link between art and politics" that was what her poems was descript as on the internet. Born in Birmingham, Alabamaon on September 9, 1934, Sanchez has taught creative writing and African American literature in at least eight universities across the United States and has lectured at over 500 college campuses . When Sanchez was only a year old, her mother passed away and Sanchez was sent to live with her paternal grandmother. She then lived with family and friends until 1943, when she moved to Harlem to live with her father, her sister, and her stepmother who was her father's third wife. Sanchez's language comes out of her immediate surroundings and accents her characters' lifestyles. Her refusal to use standard, academic English is a part of a political statement which undermines the use of language as a tool for oppression. During the early 1960s she was an integrationist, supporting the philosophy of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Actually, I do not have a favorite poet as I seldom read poems and when I do, I do not remember the poet's name. I chose Sonia Sanchez for this blog entry because I happen to see her name on "this week's highlight" on poets.org. But I feel that the poems she write consist of a lot of figurative language and the poems she write interest me, that is why I chose her for this blog entry.
The poems she write include Ballad, To Anita and A poem for my father. The books she wrote include Shake loose my skin: New selected poems and Under a Soprano Sky She has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as plays and children's books.


Bibliography:
http://www.afropoets.net/soniasanchez.html
http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/276
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sanchez
http://www.nathanielturner.com/soniasanchez.htm