Robert Hayden had an illustrious career as a poet, through many young poets have never heard of him. He is noteworthy for several reasons. First, he was the first African-American to be appointed poet laureate of the U.S. and served from 1976-1978. He died in 1980.

Hayden was strongly influenced by the Harlem Renaissance poets as well as John Keats, William Butler Yeats, and W.H. Auden.

Born in Chicago, he was shuffled to foster parents after his parents split up and he would grow up in a very angry household. He suffered himself from depression, though he turned his struggles into some of the best poetry of the late 20th century.

Robert Hayden was raised a Baptist, but he converted to the Baha’i Faith after marrying a Baha’i in the 1940s. His religion became a very strong influence on his poetry and he is very much praised among Bahai’s for his poetry. After participating in the Federal Writers Project and attending Fish University, he was elected to the American Academy of Poets and taught poetry for many years.

Though the life of Robert Hayden was hectic, he has brought to America some beautiful and challenging poems, including political poems that highlighted dark periods of American history and that contain some very moving passages. You can learn more about Robert Hayden here.