Michael S. Harper

For other uses, see Michael Harper (disambiguation).

Michael S. Harper
Born	(1938-03-18)March 18, 1938 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	May 7, 2016(2016-05-07) (aged 78) Barrington, Rhode Island, U.S.
Occupation	Poet, professor
Language	English
Citizenship	U.S.
Alma mater	California State University, Los Angeles
Genres	modern poetry, jazz poetry
Subjects	Jazz musicians
Years active	1968–2016
Notable works	Dear John, Dear Coltrane
Notable awards	Robert Hayden Poetry Award, Melville-Cane Award, Black Academy of Arts and Letters Award
Spouse	(divorced)
Children	3

Michael Steven Harper (March 18, 1938 – May 7, 2016) was an American poet and English professor at Brown University, who was the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island from 1988 to 1993. His poetry was influenced by jazz and history.

He said that the most important thing he learned from musicians was phrasing, and the authenticity of phrasing, the transcendence and spiritual mastery. He published ten books of poetry, two of which—Dear John, Dear Coltrane (1970) and Images of Kin (1977)—were nominated for the National Book Award. Many of his poems have been included as examples of African-American literature and jazz poetry in various anthologies.

Early life and education

Harper was born in Brooklyn first of three children into a middle class black family. His father Walter was the originator of "overnight" mail and worked as a post office supervisor. His mother Katherine Louise, née Johnson was a medical secretary. He had a younger brother Jonathan Paul, born in 1941, died of a motorcycle accident in 1977 and a younger sister, Katherine Winifred, born 1943. He grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant until his family moved to their homestead in Los Angeles in 1951, where he attended Dorsey High School.

In 1955, he attended Los Angeles City College, initially enrolling in pre-med courses later literature, graduating in 1959 with an associate of arts degree. At the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences (now California State University, Los Angeles, he earned a B.A. and a M.A. in English studies in 1961. He joined the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and earned an M.F.A. in 1963.

Career

He taught English at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California and his poems appeared in small magazines. In 1968, he became poet in residence at Lewis & Clark College and taught at Reed College both in Portland, Oregon. In 1970, he taught at California State College in Hayward, California.

He joined the English faculty at Brown University, where he taught literature courses and poetry workshops to undergraduates He remained there until retiring in December 2013 and was the longest serving professor of English and Literary Arts at that institution.

In 1993, Nathan A. Scott wrote in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics that "Harper has created a body of work which, though it has won much respect and admiration, deserves to be far more widely known than it is."

Personal life

Harper was married and had a daughter and two sons, Roland and Patrice. He later divorced. He lived in Barrington, Rhode Island until his death on May 7, 2016. His daughter died at birth. Her death inspired "Nightmare Begins Responsibility". .

Work

Harper wrote about people important in African-American history, including Jackie Robinson, Richard Wright and the John Brown. He said in a 2000 interview with Terry Gross, that the most important thing he learned from musicians was phrasing, and the authenticity of phrasing, the transcendence and spiritual mastery.

Harper often wrote about his wife, Shirley (commonly referred to as "Shirl"), their children, and their ancestors, as well as friends and various black historical and cultural figures.

As writer

• 1970: Dear John, Dear Coltrane, nominated for the National Book Award
• 1971: History Is Your Own Heartbeat, won the Black Academy of Arts & Letters Award for poetry
• 1972: Song: "I want a Witness"
• 1975: Nightmare Begins Responsibility
• 1977: Images of Kin, won the Melville-Cane Award from the Poetry Society of America; nominated for the National Book Award
  • 1973: Debridement (included in Images of Kin)
• 1985: Healing Song for the Inner Ear
• 1995: Honorable Amendments
• 2000: Songlines in Michaeltree: New and Collected Poems
• 2000: Poems (University of Illinois Press)
• 2001: Debridement: Song I Want a Witness & Debridement
• 2002: Selected Poems, ARC Publications

He has released one CD, of poetry accompanied by jazz music:

• 2004: Double Take: Jazz - Poetry Conversations, Paul Austerlitz, bass clarinetist/composer, innova Records, made through the American Composers Forum's Recording Assistance Program, underwritten by the McKnight Foundation.
• I Do Believe in People: Remembrances of Walter Warren Harper (1915-2004)

As editor

• Chant of Saints: A Gathering of Literature, Art and Scholarship (1979, ed. with Robert B. Stepto)

Further reading

• Lerner, Ben (ed.).To Cut Is To Heal: A Critical Companion to Michael S. Harper's "Debridement". Providence, RI: Paradigm Press, 2000. 9780945926573

External links

• Michael S Harper Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Black History.
• Michael S Harper Modern American Poetry,
• Michael S Harper Academy of American Poets