DETROIT – Detroit is mourning the loss of award-winning poet Naomi Long Madgett. “She was indeed the godmother of African-American poetry.”This is from the Poetry Foundation:Born in Norfolk, Virginia, poet and publisher Naomi Cornelia Long Madgett grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. She earned a BA at Virginia State University (then Virginia State College), an M.Ed. Mentored by poet Langston Hughes, Madgett moved to Detroit in 1946. In her poetry, influenced by the work of Emily Dickinson, John Keats, and Langston Hughes, Madgett often engages themes of civil rights and African American spirituality.