The verse of Sterling Brown does not stand up to comparison with the best of contemporary writing, including the best of contemporary Afro-American writing. The student of ethnic culture will, however, enjoy [The Collected Poems of Sterling A. Brown]. Brown is adept in his use of conventional verse forms, often drawing on the traditions of the blues, spirituals, and black folk-ballads. He displays an excellent ear for dialect, and unlike most literature in dialect, these poems are not written with the stereotypical attitudes about black people that one often finds. Brown used poetry not as an end in itself but as a vehicle for perpetuating the stories, legends, and songs of the Afro-American oral tradition. (p. 269)

Richard Tillinghast, "Arts and Letters: The First National Poetry Series," in The Sewanee Review (reprinted by permission of the editor; © 1981 by The University of the South), Vol. LXXXIX, No. 2, Spring, 1981, pp. 265-...