George Moses Horton

The first African-American author to publish a book in the United States, George Moses Horton was famously known as the ‘Slave Poet’. He spent most of his life enslaved in a North Carolina plantation, until Union troops reached the state in 1865. His three volumes of poetry cover a wide range of subjects in a variety of styles. Exhibiting a keen ear for rhythm and rhyme, his verses reveal a thorough understanding of human nature, exploring themes of slavery, freedom, war, faith and love, while celebrating the rural beauty of Chatham County. Although his poetry failed to bring him freedom or profit, his enduring struggle and the beauty of his art have secured his place in the history of American literature, elevating the status of a black poet in a manner unprecedented for his time. The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature’s finest poets, with superior formatting. For the first time in history, this volume presents Horton’s complete works, with related illustrations and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)