Although she's not especially well-known out of academic circles, American poet Ruth Forman has written countless classic poems, the vast majority of which talks about issues like spirituality and religion, love and romance, challenge, and grace. Many of her poems also discuss issues related to African-American identity and what it means to be human. Her most-celebrated work was the poetry collection entitled We Are the Young Magicians. Released in 1993, Forman won the incredibly prestigious Barnard Women Poets Prize for her aforementioned collection.
Many of Forman's poems are simple, yet incredibly elegant. "The Sun's One Good Eye," for example, consists of only three lines ("the sun’s one good eye/is on you rise up n shine/like you sposed to"). Still, it's incredibly powerful and is really a commentary on how people - mainly people of color - wake up every morning despite having fewer opportunities in life.
Booklist, for example, is a big fan of Forman's work. In their review, they wrote that Forman's “poems are alive and kicking; they pound and pulse with a hard-won sense of self, beauty, femininity, strength and righteous indignation….Forman is sexy, bittersweet, funny, feisty and real.”
