STANDARDS is honored to have had the encouragement of Essex Hemphill; the blessing of his mother, Mantalene Hemphill; and the permission of his literary agent, Francis Goldin, to re-release the following poems by Essex, all of which have long been out of print. Original publication and copyright information appears on individual pages. Additional works may be uploaded to this site, in the future. For now, we offer the following important poems for Internet access, in the hope that these selections will pay tribute to the bright life and good works of Essex, while bringing fresh hope, clarity, and insight to his devoted readers.