Obsidian cultivates, through publication and critical inquiry, Black imagination, innovation, and excellence—supporting Black, African, and African Diaspora creatives globally.

Obsidian celebrates over fifty years of continuous publication and is dedicated to publishing contemporary poetry, fiction, drama/performance, visual and media art biannually in print and year-round online.

Since its inception, Obsidian has featured a range of acclaimed writers, artists, and critics including Elizabeth Alexander, Houston A. Baker, Sharon Bridgforth, Octavia Butler, Wanda Coleman, Thadious Davis, Melvin Dixon, Gerald Early, Victor Ehikhamenor, C.S. Giscombe, Terrance Hayes, Essex Hemphill, Davida Ingram, Gayl Jones, Yusef Komunyakaa, Delita Martin, Aldon Lynn Nielsen, Sharon Norwood, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Brenda Marie Osbey, Claudia Rankine, Stacey Robinson, Jerry Ward, and Gloria Wade Gayles, among others.

Supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, CLMP, and Getting Word, Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Publications Unit in the Department of English at Illinois State University, a body corporate and politic of the State of Illinois and a 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 1975 and recognized for editorial achievement by AWP, the Council of Editors of Learned Journals and the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Obsidian’s full archive is available through JSTOR and Exact Editions.