Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelo... Their names always come to mind when I think of African American poetry. Their words have effected me deeply. When I first read Nikki's poem "Housecleaning", I was in awe. I first read Hughes, "A Dream Deferred" and his phrasing about a dream festering and rotting is vivid and memorable.
Poetry has endless possibilites and that's why I love reading and writing it. I've used my poems to express pent up feelings, for friends, for love, sometimes just to write because I love the language.
And I also remember poetry must be for the adoration of the art, because few poets will become millionares by writing poetry.
But that doesn't mean to forget about copyrighting.
That means my poems are copyrighted and registered in the Library of Congress. That means if I see one of poems with somebody elses name on it; it's lawsuit time. (Just wanted to add that. Poetry is a hard art, that takes effort. And I'm not letting someone else get rewarded for my work.)

Since this is a soap box, I also wanted to add that starving poets need recognition for their work. I applaud all poets who use their writings in a positive, informative
way.

I am now officially stepping down from my soapbox.