A poet who has not yet received the critical acclaim of some of her contemporaries, Margaret Danner has nonetheless made substantial contributions to the development of Afro-American literature. Author of five volumes, editor of two, and represented in numerous anthologies, Danner, like Gwendolyn Brooks and Mari Evans, bridges the gap between the poets who came to adulthood in the 1940s and 1950s and those who, like Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez, ushered in the black arts movement of the 1960s. The few critics who have written about Danner's work praise her highly for her exotic and exact images, her subtle protest poems, and her message that black Americans should preserve, appreciate, and celebrate their African heritage. Sometimes compared to Langston Hughes for her frequent thematic focus on Africa, and to Brooks for her subtlety, irony, and images, Danner is a meticulous poet who has continued writing over several...