An exploration of race and heritage, For My People is the
first book by poet and novelist Margaret Walker (1915-1998) and the
41st volume of the Yale Series of Younger Poets
Considered among the
most important collections of poetry written by a participant in the
Black Chicago Renaissance, For My People is a series of ballad
poems with memorable characters, including the New Orleans sorceress
Molly Means; Kissie Lee, a tough young woman who dies "with her
boots on switching blades"; Poppa Chicken, an urban drug dealer
and pimp; John Henry, killed by a ten-pound hammer; and Stagolee, who
kills a white officer but eludes a lynch mob. The memorable title
poem evokes the power of resilience not only for black people, but
for all people.
