Kevin Young, author portrait
© Melanie Dunea

Kevin Young

Kevin Young is Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library and poetry editor of The New Yorker. He is the former curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University. His books of poetry include BrownDear Darkness, and Jelly Roll: A Blues. He has previously edited the anthology Blues Poems, Jazz Poems, and, for Library of America, John Berryman: Selected Poems. He will be the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture starting in January 2021.

Mental Health Awareness Month Resources

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and educators are increasingly aware that integrating social-emotional learning into the curriculum is critical if we want students to succeed both in and out of the classroom. Download the thematic educator guides on Teaching About Anxiety and Mindfulness and Teaching About Student Wellness. Explore our specially curated collections on

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Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. AANHPI Creators – Middle School titles AANHPI Creators – High School titles .

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Read Kevin Young’s Introduction to African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song

From the introduction:  The Difficult Miracle                                  This is the difficult miracle of Black poetry in America:  that we persist, published or not, and loved or unloved: we persist.                                                                                                 –June Jordan For over 250 years, African Americans have written and recited and published poetry about beauty and injustice, music and muses, Africa and America, freedoms

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