A history of Black poets in Washington, DC, reveals how they have reflected and transformed American cultural discourse
Washington, DC, has long been home to a dynamic and vibrant African American literary community, despite often being overshadowed by the literary worlds of New York and Chicago. In No More Worlds to Conquer, the local poet Brian Gilmore uncovers the buried legacy of Black poets in Washington. He traces the literary life and politics of Black poets in the nation's capital since Paul Laurence Dunbar, showing how well-known American poets, such as Sterling Brown and Jean Toomer, were mentored in DC by poets like May Miller and Georgia Douglas Johnson and making the case for the city as a center of American literature.
Gilmore draws on meticulous research, personal interviews, and his own deep knowledge of the local literary community to connect generations of writers and document a poetic community that transcends Washington. He reveals the intricate intersections, networks, and influences that have shaped the city's poets and how they have influenced American poetry for a century.
More than a historical account, No More Worlds to Conquer is a personal exploration that bridges the past and the present. Gilmore, who was born and raised in DC, illuminates this history and reflects on his own place in its literary tradition. This multigenerational account will resonate with poetry enthusiasts, local DC scholars, and anyone interested in the rich traditions of African American literature.
Reviews
"No More Worlds to Conquer is a love letter to DC, a place where African American poets have built a supportive literary community and a continuity of influence. In periods where support for Black voices has been lacking, this continuity has been crucial self-support—and Gilmore provides terrific historical context. He also adds his own personal experiences, which give deeper resonance to his descriptions of important organizations. No More Worlds to Conquer is generous in spirit and essential reading for anyone who truly wants to understand the culture of the nation's capital."—Kim Roberts, author, A Literary Guide to Washington, DC and By Broad Potomac's Shore: Great Poems from the Early Days of Our Nation's Capital
"No More Worlds to Conquer is a remarkable accomplishment. Brian Gilmore has created a book that is thorough, authoritative, and deeply researched, while simultaneously offering us a compelling and immersive journey across decades of Washington, DC, literary history. This is an essential volume for both home libraries and scholarly shelves."—Sandra Beasley, author, Made to Explode: Poems
"Brian Gilmore's book charts a course from Paul Laurence Dunbar's time as an employee of the Library of Congress, through the days when Vachel Lindsay pretended to "discover" Langston Hughes at the Wardman Hotel, the days of DC Beats and go-go eruptions to a continuous groove of Black poetics that continues to enliven American language to this day, however unacknowledged."—Aldon Nielsen, George and Barbara Kelly Professor of American Literature, Penn State University and author of Heat Strings and coeditor with Lauri Rami of Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: An Anthology of Innovative Poetry by African Americans
"An enjoyable and highly researched account of DC's literary history. A must read for anyone who wants to get a closer glimpse at DC's poetry scene for the past 100 years."—Andy Shallal, owner, Busboys and Poets Café and Bookstore
"Blending personal and professional stories with titillating bits of gossip, reviews, analysis, and criticism, No More Worlds to Conquer expertly presents evidence of a talented community of writers in Washington, DC, responsible for the uninterrupted development of high-quality poetry and prose that shaped the African American and American literary canon in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A tour de force."—jonetta rose barras, author, Dawn and The Corner Is No Place for Hiding
"No More Worlds to Conquer is a historical and literary tour de force of the African American poetic community and politics of Washington, DC."—Karl Carter, poet and author, Southern Road and Selected Poems
"Brian Gilmore manages to be accessible, academic, and intimate in this odyssey through a history of the Black poets who have lived, worked, written, and poemed in and around the nation's capital. No More Worlds to Conquer reads like a twisting tale of jazz musicians whose connection to one another is cultivated in back rooms and on street corners, in secret poetry readings and coffee shops, chance meetings and cultivated friendships. This is a special book for poets, writers, and those who would like to see how the spirit of literature moves through cities and generations."—Hoke Glover, assistant professor of creative writing, Bowie State University
"Brian Gilmore's comprehensive history of DC's Black poetry scene is itself nearly a poem, an ode to a consequential but largely unknown thread in American literature. No More Worlds to Conquer is a treasure and I could have read five hundred more pages."—Rion Amilcar Scott, author, The World Doesn't Require You
"This is a book I've been waiting for—a narrative social history of Black poetries in DC, as approachable as it is thorough. A poet of the District himself, Brian Gilmore lends his history an authentic intimacy that also firmly positions DC as one of the centers in the US where Black poetries established a new lineage still driving into the future. I'm grateful for it."—Joshua Weiner, author, The Figure of a Man Being Swallowed by a Fish
