(born 1917) Poet and novelist who became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize (1950). Her rich poetic career has explored the African American vernacular, where race shapes experience (We Real Cool, 1966). Her sometimes underrated novel, Maud Martha (1953), deals with the impact of prejudice within African American interactions, as well as conditions of the larger society. Other poems deal with racial issues of her home in Chicago, IL, including “Jump Bad” (1951).