Mary Weston Fordham (1862-1905) was an African American poet and educator. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Weston and Louise Bonneau. As a young woman, she worked for the American Missionary Association as a teacher. Towards the end of her life, Fordham published Magnolia Leaves (1897), a collection of sixty-six poems on African American life during the Reconstruction Era and beyond. While little is known about her life, it is suggested in her poetry that she suffered the loss of six children at a young age.

"With back and shoulders low bent, / She stands all day, and part of the night / Till her strength is well-nigh spent." From subjects as diverse as the life of an old washerwoman, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the territory of Alaska, Mary Weston Fordham draws inspiration for the act of poetry. Magnolia Leaves is her only published collection.