WRITING AROUND THE EDGES: A Praise Song for Wanda Coleman

McInnis remembers the life and work of poet Wanda Coleman (1946-2013). Hailed as one of the most important voices of contemporary African American poetry, Coleman married at eighteen and divorced by twenty-two. Her early writing career was shaped by the vagaries and demands of her hectic lifestyle a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Callaloo 2014-04, Vol.37 (2), p.189-193
Main Author: McInnis, Jarvis C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Black literature
Children
Coleman, Wanda
In Memoriam: Wanda Coleman November 13, 1946–November 22, 2013
Influence
Personal profiles
Poetry
Poets
Politics
Racism
Social criticism & satire
Writing
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Summary:McInnis remembers the life and work of poet Wanda Coleman (1946-2013). Hailed as one of the most important voices of contemporary African American poetry, Coleman married at eighteen and divorced by twenty-two. Her early writing career was shaped by the vagaries and demands of her hectic lifestyle as a single mother of two young children. Ridiculed and deeply wounded as a child, Coleman became a crusader for exposing the evils of racism. Her oeuvre is distinctive for its raw, unflinching representations of the violence, poverty, racism, and profound inequality of the urban landscape. Coleman published over twenty books, mobilizing her art as a site of social and political critique.
ISSN:0161-2492
1080-6512
1080-6512
DOI:10.1353/cal.2014.0040