Robert Hayden’s childhood independence was instrumental to his becoming a scholar and poet. He was reared in a poor Detroit neighborhood, where such distinctions were rare. Soon after he was born Asa Bundy Sheffey, Hayden was adopted by the Haydens, neighbors of his birth parents. A sufferer of extreme myopia as a child, Hayden was separated from his peers into a “sight conservation” class; although his handicap kept him from participating in most sports, the resulting time alone allowed him to read (especially poetry, which demanded less of his vision), write, and play the violin, thereby developing rhythmical and tonal sensitivities that would well serve his eventual vocation. Some of his best-known poems can be found in his collection A Ballad of Remembrance. Hayden was the first African American to be appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Hayden's formal, elegant poems about the black historical experience earned him a number of other major awards as well. …show more content…
He found refuge in literature, developing interests in fiction and poetry. After graduating from high school, he attended Wayne State University (known as Detroit City College at the time). He left college in 1936 to begin working for the Federal Writers’ Project. In this post, Hayden spent time researching African-American history and folk life—subjects that would inspire and inform his poetic work.

Hayden remained with the Federal Writers' Project for two years. He spent the following years crafting his first volume of poetry, Heart-Shape in the Dust. The book was published in 1940. The same year, Hayden married Erma Inez Morris. Hayden converted to his wife’s religion—the Baha’i faith—shortly after their marriage. His beliefs influenced much of his work, and he helped to publicize the little-known