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Explore more Discovering Literature articles

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Explore more Discovering Literature articles

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Explore 100 of our best loved articles, perfect for teachers of Years 10–13.

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Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights | VOICE. In this short film, recorded in 2021, Kemi Alemoru, culture editor at gal-dem, and Kelly Foster, public historian, explore the stories of Claudia Jones and Olive Morris.

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Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights | VOICE

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Out of Bounds: Grace Nichols reads ‘Angel of the North’. © AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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Grace Nichols reads 'Angel of the North'

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Grace Nichols reads 'Angel of the North'

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Out of Bounds: Grace Nichols reads ‘Angel of the North’

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© AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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Out of Bounds: John Agard reads ‘The Ascent of John Edmonstone’. © AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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John Agard reads 'The Ascent of John Edmonstone'

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John Agard reads 'The Ascent of John Edmonstone'

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Out of Bounds: John Agard reads ‘The Ascent of John Edmonstone’

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© AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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Out of Bounds: Grace Nichols reads ‘Outwards from Hull’. © AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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Grace Nichols reads 'Outwards from Hull'

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Grace Nichols reads 'Outwards from Hull'

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Out of Bounds: Grace Nichols reads ‘Outwards from Hull’

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© AHRC-funded Out of Bounds Poetry Project based at Newcastle University and Stirling University.

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Stories of the Windrush Children, with Benjamin Zephaniah

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Stories of the Windrush Children, with Benjamin Zephaniah

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Stories of the Windrush Children, with Benjamin Zephaniah

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Samuel Selvon reads from The Lonely Londoners. British Library Sound Archive.

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Samuel Selvon reads from 'The Lonely Londoners'

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Samuel Selvon reads from 'The Lonely Londoners'

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© By permission of the Estate of Sam Selvon. Published under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Licence.

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Bernardine Evaristo on Black British literature. British Library Sound Archive.

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Bernardine Evaristo on Black British literature

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Bernardine Evaristo on Black British literature

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Audio © British Library.

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David Olusoga in Conversation: Black History Matters

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David Olusoga in Conversation: Black History Matters

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David Olusoga in Conversation: Black History Matters

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PEN Pinter Prize 2020: Linton Kwesi Johnson

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PEN Pinter Prize 2020: Linton Kwesi Johnson

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PEN Pinter Prize 2020: Linton Kwesi Johnson

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Bloodaxe Books. John Agard: 'Listen Mr Oxford don'

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John Agard performs 'Listen Mr Oxford don'

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John Agard performs 'Listen Mr Oxford don'

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Explore Poets, Collections and Interviews | The Poetry Archive

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Explore our poets recordings and interviews and a huge range of other materials. Get started by looking for your favourite poet or poem.

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Bloodaxe Books. James Berry: Poet of the Windrush Generation

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James Berry performs his poems featured in 'A Story I Am In: Selected Poems'

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James Berry performs his poems featured in 'A Story I Am In: Selected Poems'

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James Berry: Poet of the Windrush Generation

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Leave Taking - a Black Plays Archive recording (National Theatre)

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Scene from Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking'

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Scene from Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking'

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Recording of a scene from Winsome Pinnock's play Leave Taking

Cast:
Ellen Thomas as Enid
Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Del
Steve Toussaint as Broderick
Tracey Saunders as Viv

Creative:
Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway: Director
Winsome Pinnock: Playwright

NT Archive Ref: BBPA/3/1/39

Recorded at the National Theatre Sound Studio, 28/04/2010
All play extracts

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Leave Taking - a Black Plays Archive recording

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Recording of a scene from Winsome Pinnock's play Leave Taking

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Bloodaxe Books. Benjamin Zephaniah: Dis Poetry

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Benjamin Zephaniah performs 'Dis Poetry'

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Benjamin Zephaniah performs 'Dis Poetry'

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Bloodaxe Books. Grace Nichols: I Have Crossed an Ocean

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Grace Nichols performs 'Hurricane Hits England' and other poems

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Grace Nichols performs 'Hurricane Hits England' and other poems

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Black literature timeline (accessible plain text version)

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Download an accessible plain text version

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Download an accessible plain text version

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Black literature timeline: teacher's resource pack

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This pack gives ready-to-teach ideas for using the British Library's Black literature timeline to enrich Secondary English and History.

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Read texts from Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince and Mary Seacole.

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The digital timeline is richly illustrated with manuscripts, posters, photos and recordings from the British Library's collection.

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To print the story please do so via the link in the story toolbar.

Explore the rich history of Black writing and literature in Britain

This literary timeline explores the history of Black literature and writing in Britain through around 50 texts. It includes works by writers living and working in Britain, as well as titles first published here and authored by people who were born in former British colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Americas.

If in reading this timeline you pick just one book and that book inspires you to read on, then to go on to realise your deepest dreams, then it will have achieved its chief goal. Gaverne Bennett, creative director and timeline author.

Alex Wheatle, author of the award-winning South Crongton series, writes...

When I emerged from prison in the autumn of 1981, I was eager to continue my reading education. It had begun with my cellmate, Simeon, pressing a copy of C L R James' The Black Jacobins into my hands. My first port of call was Brixton Library, an institution funded, ironically, by Henry Tate, whose great family wealth was accrued by investment in the Caribbean sugar trade. I had no idea of the treasure trove I was about to discover.

Rummaging through the shelves, I discovered W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Phillis Wheatley, Beryl Gilroy, Grace Nichols, Maya Angelou and so many more. Many of the brilliant and innovative writers I had read at Brixton Library are listed in this timeline.

Brixton Library was the start for me, my entrance to a new world of stories of our Black experiences. There were many paths to take, and each led me to a new place. I could find myself in the South Africa of Shaka Zulu, or in the bustling streets of 1940s Harlem.

We hope that once you have unearthed these gems, it will lead you on to your own literary journey, where Black narratives will inform, teach, empower, politicise you, vex you, make you weep, laugh and uplift your spirit, just as it has done for me.

Simeon once told me that the Black narrative and our collective history is just as important as anybody else's. Nuh let anyone tell you different, he would stress.

The writers who document and record those stories are just as crucial as anyone else. Read on and explore.

Timbuktu

During the European medieval period, the city of Timbuktu was a centre for culture, learning and scholarship. At its height, it contained many thousands of manuscripts (including Islamic devotional texts, theology, philosophy, law, literature and maths) that were carefully preserved by schools, families and networks that revered knowledge. This ancient manuscript culture survives into the present.

This photograph shows Imam Mahmoud Baba Hassèye, members of whose family have been scholars and imams for generations.

Image credit: Photo 1294(11) © Alexandra Huddleston.

1562

John Hawkins leads the first expedition to Africa where he enslaves 300 Africans and transports them to the Americas, setting Britain on a path to playing a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade.

1948

The arrival of the Empire Windrush opens up a new chapter of migration from the Caribbean and Africa to Britain.

This photograph depicts Windrush passengers at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948: (from left to right) boxer John Hazel (21), case maker Harold Wilmot (40) and John Richards (22), a carpenter.

Image credit: Photograph of John Hazel, Harold Wilmot and John Richards at Tilbury Docks, June 1948. 79655998 © Popperfoto / Getty Images / Contributor.

1966

"There is no problem in this world that cannot be solved."

Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) publishes Efuru, the first novel by a Nigerian and African woman writer to be published in Britain, and pioneering in breaking the silence of Black African female writers about their lives.

John La Rose and Sarah White establish New Beacon Books, the UK's first Black publishing house; Margaret Busby becomes Britain's first female Black publisher, co-founding Allison & Busby in 1967; Jessica and Eric Huntley establish Bogle L'Ouverture Publications in 1969. Together they widen the scope and influence of Black literature.

Learn more about New Beacon Books.

Learn more about Andrew Salkey and the first publishing houses for Black writing in Britain.

Image credit: The Groundings with My Brothers by Walter Rodney (Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, 1969). Andrew Salkey Archive Dep 10310, box 6. Walter Rodney: © THE WALTER RODNEY FOUNDATION, INC. (WRF) WWW.WALTERRODNEYFOUNDATION.ORG You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Please credit the copyright holder when reusing this work.

Photograph of Beryl Gilroy with her pupils.

Image credit: No copying, republication or modification is allowed for this material. © The Estate of Beryl Gilroy. For further use of this material please seek formal permission from the copyright holder.

1981

A fire at a teenager's birthday party in New Cross, south London claims the lives of 13 young Black people. The New Cross Massacre Action Committee organise the Black People's Day of Action.

Learn more about the Black People's Day of Action.

2020

"If you write something, and you can really hear your voice in it, really see yourself in it, that's a triumph."

Caleb Femi (1990-) publishes his first poetry collection Poor, which explores the lives of young Black boys in Peckham. In 2016, he was chosen as the first Young People's Poet Laureate for London.

And beyond 2021...

The growth of Black British literature in recent years has extended an already rich Black literary tradition. New names will continue to join these pioneers and groundbreaking writers, together building a past, present and future full of creative innovation, self-expression and possibility.

We have created the timeline primarily for young people, secondary students and teachers, but we hope everyone can enjoy it.

It has been built using Sutori, an online tool designed for the classroom. Sutori's platform also allows you to transform the timeline into presentation slides.

For an accessible version of the timeline, complete with alt text, please contact discovering.literature@bl.uk
Image credits
Unless otherwise stated, images can only be used for research and private study purposes. You may not use this material for commercial purposes. Any further use must be cleared with the rights holders.

Content credits

All content was created 2021. First published 5 October 2021. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

Author and Creative Director: Gaverne Bennett.

Assistant writers: Dr Cecily Jones, Herschell Bennett, Ralia Sofola, Katie Adams, Dave Moore and Aphra Bennett.

Consultants: Dr Cecily Jones (co-editor, Oxford Companion to Black British History) & Dr Deirdre Osborne, Reader in English Literature and Drama, Goldsmiths, University of London (editor, Cambridge Companion to British Black and Asian Literature (1945-2010)). With thanks to British Library colleagues including Sandra Agard, Victoria Ogunsanya and Andrea Varney.

Wallchart designer: Urvashi Patankar

With special thanks to Alex Wheatle, Jon Wedderburn, Dallas Athent and @book_wrmshan

Alex Wheatle, author of the award-winning South Crongton series, writes...

When I emerged from prison in the autumn of 1981, I was eager to continue my reading education. It had begun with my cellmate, Simeon, pressing a copy of C L R James' The Black Jacobins into my hands. My first port of call was Brixton Library, an institution funded, ironically, by Henry Tate, whose great family wealth was accrued by investment in the Caribbean sugar trade. I had no idea of the treasure trove I was about to discover.

Rummaging through the shelves, I discovered W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Phillis Wheatley, Beryl Gilroy, Grace Nichols, Maya Angelou and so many more. Many of the brilliant and innovative writers I had read at Brixton Library are listed in this timeline.

Brixton Library was the start for me, my entrance to a new world of stories of our Black experiences. There were many paths to take, and each led me to a new place. I could find myself in the South Africa of Shaka Zulu, or in the bustling streets of 1940s Harlem.

We hope that once you have unearthed these gems, it will lead you on to your own literary journey, where Black narratives will inform, teach, empower, politicise you, vex you, make you weep, laugh and uplift your spirit, just as it has done for me.

Simeon once told me that the Black narrative and our collective history is just as important as anybody else's. Nuh let anyone tell you different, he would stress.

The writers who document and record those stories are just as crucial as anyone else. Read on and explore.

Timbuktu

During the European medieval period, the city of Timbuktu was a centre for culture, learning and scholarship. At its height, it contained many thousands of manuscripts (including Islamic devotional texts, theology, philosophy, law, literature and maths) that were carefully preserved by schools, families and networks that revered knowledge. This ancient manuscript culture survives into the present.

This photograph shows Imam Mahmoud Baba Hassèye, members of whose family have been scholars and imams for generations.

Image credit: Photo 1294(11) © Alexandra Huddleston.

1562

John Hawkins leads the first expedition to Africa where he enslaves 300 Africans and transports them to the Americas, setting Britain on a path to playing a leading role in the transatlantic slave trade.

1948

The arrival of the Empire Windrush opens up a new chapter of migration from the Caribbean and Africa to Britain.

This photograph depicts Windrush passengers at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948: (from left to right) boxer John Hazel (21), case maker Harold Wilmot (40) and John Richards (22), a carpenter.

Image credit: Photograph of John Hazel, Harold Wilmot and John Richards at Tilbury Docks, June 1948. 79655998 © Popperfoto / Getty Images / Contributor.

1966

"There is no problem in this world that cannot be solved."

Flora Nwapa (1931-1993) publishes Efuru, the first novel by a Nigerian and African woman writer to be published in Britain, and pioneering in breaking the silence of Black African female writers about their lives.

John La Rose and Sarah White establish New Beacon Books, the UK's first Black publishing house; Margaret Busby becomes Britain's first female Black publisher, co-founding Allison & Busby in 1967; Jessica and Eric Huntley establish Bogle L'Ouverture Publications in 1969. Together they widen the scope and influence of Black literature.

Learn more about New Beacon Books.

Learn more about Andrew Salkey and the first publishing houses for Black writing in Britain.

Image credit: The Groundings with My Brothers by Walter Rodney (Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, 1969). Andrew Salkey Archive Dep 10310, box 6. Walter Rodney: © THE WALTER RODNEY FOUNDATION, INC. (WRF) WWW.WALTERRODNEYFOUNDATION.ORG You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Please credit the copyright holder when reusing this work.

Photograph of Beryl Gilroy with her pupils.

Image credit: No copying, republication or modification is allowed for this material. © The Estate of Beryl Gilroy. For further use of this material please seek formal permission from the copyright holder.

1981

A fire at a teenager's birthday party in New Cross, south London claims the lives of 13 young Black people. The New Cross Massacre Action Committee organise the Black People's Day of Action.

Learn more about the Black People's Day of Action.

2020

"If you write something, and you can really hear your voice in it, really see yourself in it, that's a triumph."

Caleb Femi (1990-) publishes his first poetry collection Poor, which explores the lives of young Black boys in Peckham. In 2016, he was chosen as the first Young People's Poet Laureate for London.

And beyond 2021...

The growth of Black British literature in recent years has extended an already rich Black literary tradition. New names will continue to join these pioneers and groundbreaking writers, together building a past, present and future full of creative innovation, self-expression and possibility.

We have created the timeline primarily for young people, secondary students and teachers, but we hope everyone can enjoy it.

It has been built using Sutori, an online tool designed for the classroom. Sutori's platform also allows you to transform the timeline into presentation slides.

For an accessible version of the timeline, complete with alt text, please contact discovering.literature@bl.uk
Image credits
Unless otherwise stated, images can only be used for research and private study purposes. You may not use this material for commercial purposes. Any further use must be cleared with the rights holders.

Content credits

All content was created 2021. First published 5 October 2021. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

Author and Creative Director: Gaverne Bennett.

Assistant writers: Dr Cecily Jones, Herschell Bennett, Ralia Sofola, Katie Adams, Dave Moore and Aphra Bennett.

Consultants: Dr Cecily Jones (co-editor, Oxford Companion to Black British History) & Dr Deirdre Osborne, Reader in English Literature and Drama, Goldsmiths, University of London (editor, Cambridge Companion to British Black and Asian Literature (1945-2010)). With thanks to British Library colleagues including Sandra Agard, Victoria Ogunsanya and Andrea Varney.

Wallchart designer: Urvashi Patankar

With special thanks to Alex Wheatle, Jon Wedderburn, Dallas Athent and @book_wrmshan

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Black literature timeline - The British Library

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Explore the rich history of Black writing and literature in Britain This literary timeline explores the history of Black literature and writing in Britain through around 50 texts. It includes works by writers living and working in Britain, as well as titles first published here and authored by people who were born in former British colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Americas.

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Print a copy for your classroom.