Original Poems Inspired by Robert Hayden by Shannon Daniels

"I  first read Robert Hayden in ninth grade, when my English teacher showed us “Those Winter Sundays.” Reading it, I was struck by emotions that I didn’t yet understand. I felt then what I would later feel about many of his poems: enchanted by how much it could both express and withhold. Many years later, I moved to Ann Arbor, where I learned Robert Hayden had spent much of his life, first as a student at the University of Michigan, and then later as the English Department’s first Black faculty member. He lived through times of tremendous beauty, suffering, and change, all of which were reflected in his poetry — he grew up in Detroit’s Paradise Valley, where African American art and culture flourished during the Great Migration; befriended Langston Hughes and studied under W. H. Auden, who were both tremendous influences on his work; taught at Fisk University under Jim Crow segregation; and taught at the University of Michigan during the Vietnam War as the young people he met were sent off to commit and suffer from senseless violence. His poems wrestle with themes of beauty, atrocity, nature, faith, and the human spirit, especially within the context of the tumultuous years in which he lived. He confronted difficult, multifaceted truths through his poetry — voicing his own lived experiences and the stories of Black history while also firmly believing in the universal aspects of humanity that transcend difference, informed partly by his Baháʼí faith. He expressed this sentiment in poems that were equally concerned with craft and philosophy, which are what make them still so compelling today.

Though he would go on to effectively become the first Black Poet Laureate of the United States and have a lasting influence on American poetry, I continue to be surprised by how many people I encounter who have never read his work or have never even heard of him. Many literature classes teach a couple of his most famous poems, but most don’t explore the breadth of his oeuvre, which is truly expansive and awesome. I recommend checking out books of his collected poetry from the library or purchasing them from your local independent bookstore. The goal of this project is partly to highlight Hayden’s work for the community he called home all those years ago and partly to honor his legacy through ekphrasis by creating original poems and prints inspired by his work. I’ve selected ten poems from across his career that I believe deserve more attention, and I’ve written ten poems and made ten cyanotypes of my own inspired by the ones I’ve curated. Some of the cyanotypes incorporate photographs I’ve taken of places in Ann Arbor.

Hayden and I have led different lives in different eras; our experiences are not one and the same. But he has inspired me to look for the universal aspects of the human experience, and in that search I have found so much goodness and beauty. I hope that my contributions honor what Hayden’s poetry has not only given me but everyone who is lucky enough to encounter his words. Here are the poems I wrote." - Shannon Daniels