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Table of Contents

See Also

See Also in This Set

African Americans

Julia Alvarez

Maya Angelou

Literature in the United States

Poetry

Mark Strand

The 1990s in America

Yusef Komunyakaa

by Kris Bigalk

Identification African American poet

After receiving the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1994, Komunyakaa achieved even greater attention, noted as one of the most lauded African American poets.

One of the foremost African American poets of his time, Yusef Komunyakaa wrote and edited a variety of poetry collections during the 1990’s. Komunyakaa’s poetry collection Magic City, published in 1992, explores themes from the author’s childhood in the rural American South. His poems illustrate a child’s growing awareness of civil rights issues, racial identity, and his place in a rapidly changing community and world. Magic City continues the themes found in his earlier volumes Copacetic (1984) and I Apologize for the Eyes in My Head (1986).

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa in 1996.

ph_Komunyakaa.jpg

(AP/Wide World Photos)

It was his next volume of poetry, Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems, however, that received the most critical attention. A compilation of his best work from previous poetry collections, along with strong new poetry, this book explores several themes that recur in Komunyakaa’s work: the African American experience, the Vietnam War, and jazz and blues music. It was this volume of poetry that won Komunyakaa the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. That same year, he also received the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and the William Faulkner Prize from the Université de Rennes, also for Neon Vernacular.

In 1998, Komunyakaa published Thieves of Paradise, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. This collection was influenced by the poet’s experience in Australia and reflects his interest in the culture of the Aborigines. Other accolades and awards Komunyakaa received in the 1990’s include the Thomas Forcade Award (1991), the Hanes Poetry Prize (1997), and the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998). In 1999, he was named a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

In addition to publishing his volumes of poetry, Komunyakaa coedited two poetry collections, The Jazz Poetry Anthology (1991) and The Second Set: The Jazz Poetry Anthology (1996), with poet and jazz musician Sascha Feinstein. These collections feature the work of many major American poets. Komunyakaa also worked with scholar Martha Collins in translating Nguyen Quang Thieu’s poetry collection, The Insomnia of Fire, published in 1995.

Impact

Yusef Komunyakaa’s impact on American poetry during the 1990’s was significant. His Pulitzer Prize-winning work, Neon Vernacular, directed attention to important political and social issues, including the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and their effects on several generations of Americans. His work with other writers also expanded awareness of jazz poetry and the poetry of Vietnamese writer Nguyen Quang Thieu. Komunyakaa’s poetry, which features a spare, image-rich style and a melodic, rhythmic cadence, blended formal poetry with musical forms of jazz and blues, adding to the repertoire of American poetry.

Further Reading

1 

Conley, Susan. “About Yusef Komunyakaa: A Profile.” Ploughshares 23, no. 1 (Spring, 1997): 202-207.

2 

Gordon, Fran. “Yusef Komunyakaa: Blue Note in a Lyrical Landscape.” Poets & Writers 28, no. 6 (November/December, 2000): 26-33.

3 

Ringnalda, Don. Fighting and Writing the Vietnam War. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1994.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Bigalk, Kris. "Yusef Komunyakaa." The 1990s in America, edited by Milton Berman, Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1990_1311.
APA 7th
Bigalk, K. (2009). Yusef Komunyakaa. In M. Berman (Ed.), The 1990s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Bigalk, Kris. "Yusef Komunyakaa." Edited by Milton Berman. The 1990s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.