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Caucasian poets who've written about race?

Originally Published: April 05, 2007

After a fierce game of speed Scrabble, my friend Len recently asked me what contemporary Caucasian poets wrote about the subject of race. I came up with C.K. Williams and Sean Thomas Dougherty, but not much beyond that. It got me wondering. Does anyone know any Caucasian poets that have addressed the subject of race in an interesting manner? Even just a poem or two. I guess I'm asking because we live in a country that hasn't owned up to its history; there still hasn't been a formal apology for slavery, and all the xenophobia surrounding the Southern border, with plans to build a fence to the moon, so suddenly every Latino is suspect. I can think of many African-American poets, for instance, who have addressed the subject of race in their poems, but not many Causasians. I guess I think race (and racism) are national issues, applying to people of all backgrounds. But maybe there are poems by Caucasian poets that I'm just not thinking of. I think I remember a poem about Diallo by Greg Fuchs. Probably something by Jim Daniels. I know Whitman addressed race directly, but he's obviously not a contemporary poet.

Jeffrey McDaniel is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Chapel of Inadvertent Joy (University...

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