Spencer's poetry appeared in the Norton Anthology, making her the first African-American woman poet and first Virginian included in a Norton poetry collection.
In 1973, Anne Spencer's poetry was included in the prestigious Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, marking a landmark moment in American literary history. This inclusion made her the first African-American woman poet and the first Black female poet ever featured in a Norton poetry anthology, one of the most authoritative and widely used collections in academic curricula across the United States. She was also recognized as the first Black woman and first Virginian to have her work included in a Norton poetry anthology.
This achievement came late in Spencer's life, decades after her most active period of publication during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, and it served as a powerful affirmation of her enduring literary significance at a time when the American literary canon was beginning, slowly, to acknowledge the contributions of Black writers and especially Black women. Though the exact publication day within 1973 is not documented in available sources, the year itself stands as a pivotal milestone.
The Norton inclusion cemented Spencer's legacy beyond her own regional and community renown in Lynchburg, Virginia, introducing her verse—rich with themes of nature, feminism, and racial justice—to generations of students and scholars nationwide. It also spurred renewed academic interest in her papers and life story, including efforts by the University of Virginia to preserve her literary archive as an important record of Black women's intellectual history in America.