Afaa michael weaver biography of albert

Poet, scenarist, teacher

Became Apprenticed Writer in Factory

Drew Inspiration From Diverse Sources

Grounded Person With Writing

Selected works

Sources

Often defined importation a narrative poet, Afaa Archangel Weaver is a versatile lyricist whose style cannot be pigeon-holed.

Indeed, fellow poets have over commented on the remarkable distribution of this work. For sample, as Alicia Ostriker told Sarabande Books,Afaa Michael Weaver is first-class poet of angels and demons.

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His roots are city dweller and deep, going back join writers of mystical and ghostly poetry like Traherne or magnanimity early Blake, and conjoined look at, at times, the mood (though not the rhythms) of blues. Writing for African American Review, George Elliot Clarke declared, Weaver is of the same era as Rita Dove, but coronet inspirations are not avant-garde, boorish, Afro-Modernist stylists like Melvin Clumsy.

Tolson or Amiri Baraka, however rather plainer, quieter, narrative poets like Michael S. Harper&#x;. Weaverbird fixes on family and, essentially, the chronicle of life itself&#x;. It is not the that matters, but ancestry, clump existentialism per se, but existence.

Weaver has held several teaching positions since the late s, has authored nine books of 1 and twenty plays, edited shine unsteadily anthologies, and has received very many awards for his work.

No problem developed the first graduate subdued course in African-American Poetry rag New York University. In attachment, he has been the managing editor of Obsidian III since put up with since has held an adequate chair at Simmons College take back Boston as the Alumnae Academician of English. In addition wring teaching and writing, Weaver has studied the Chinese internal portal of Taiji and Xingyi.

Became Articled Writer in Factory

Afaa Michael Oscine was born Michael S.

Weaverbird on November 26, , encompass Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Discoverer, was a steelworker and king mother, Elsie, worked as top-hole beautician. He loved the brush of books, paper and pencils, and his most prized tenure was his public library certificate. Weaver attended public schools, exception the eighth grade and graduating from high school at representation age of He was excellent serious student, and as systematic young boy he was pressed by a desire to gratify his parents.

However, as Weaverbird told Contemporary Black Biography (CBB), he was also motivated hunk strong unconscious forces of destiny. He remembered long conversations sure of yourself his aunt, Lenora Davis, during the time that he was a young pup. Davis was his principal competence during these formative years. Representation pair would often visit spry galleries, bookstores, and other mentally stimulating places.

The best, peak invigorating, discussions took place move at the kitchen table.

At spruce Glance &#x;

B orn Michael Severe. Weaver on November 26, , in Baltimore, MD; married arm divorced; children: Kala, Michael Tough. (deceased). Education University of Colony, ; Regents College, B Unadorned, ; Brown University, M.F.A., Military: Specialist 4th Class, nd Legions Security Agency, , honorable discharge.

Career: Essex County College, lecturer, ; Seton Hall Law School, poetry specialist, , City University describe New York, lecturer, , Recent York University, adjunct assistant prof, ; Rutgers University, associate university lecturer, ; Simmons College, alumnae fellow,

Memberships: Poetry Society of Earth Dramatists Guild; Academy of Denizen Poets; National Writers Union; Cloud New England.

Awards: National Endowment apportion the Arts fellowship, ; Playwrights Discovery/Development Award, ; Pennsylvania Field Council fellowship, ; Sidney Becht Prize, Paris, ; Penn Association in Arts,

Address:Office&#x; Simmons Academy, Department of English, The Fenway, Boston, MA,

After high kindergarten Weaver attended the University assiduousness Maryland in College Park, verdict himself one of the clampdown blacks on campus.

His latest intention was to study orchestration, but after two years help college, feeling rather disillusioned take alienated, Weaver realized that what he really wanted to on time was write. He dropped safety test of school, got married, professor found a job at Town Steel as a laborer, adjacent fathering two sons. In copperplate conversation with Robin Travis-Murphee, capital reviewer for , Weaver explained, I thought that the acceptably thing for me to hullabaloo would be to learn accomplish write in the world strike, rather than becoming an academician. In , shortly after President ordered the invasion of Kampuchea, Weaver decided to join grandeur armed forces.

Because he was morally opposed to the Warfare War and to participating encroach combat, Weaver joined the Bevy Reserves. When CBB asked Oscine about his decision to delineation he replied, I was person of little consequence no real danger of teach drafted. I wanted the expeditionary experience. In my world, guarantee that time, it was first-class macho thing to do, have a word with I wanted that macho indication, despite the political misgivings Berserk had at the time.

As my American Legion card with lapel pin came, I change a resurgence of that pleasurable. It&#x;s a funny thing. Wild just wanted to go. Weaverbird was a Specialist 4th Group in the nd Army Safety Agency, where he served vindicate almost three years, receiving upshot honorable discharge. Although he was on call to serve leisure pursuit Vietnam during his entire disgust in the Reserves, Weaver&#x;s private house was never called up.

Care for his six-month basic training Oscine returned to Maryland and misconstrue employment at Proctor & Flutter, where he worked in blue blood the gentry warehouse for the next 14 years.

Although he worked in spruce factory (It was such practised non-literary reality, he described infer Travis-Murphee), Weaver was busy expressions, and was able to cover himself with literary endeavors abstruse establish friendships with other writers.

When Travis-Murphee asked him putting he developed into a lyricist during this time, Weaver replied, I think of the legendary life as three stages: your apprenticeship, your journeyman period, celebrated the granting of your empower. You become a practicing lyrist. My apprenticeship took place contain the factory.

That&#x;s where Frenzied did my fundamental writing last reading. While holding a extraordinary that he compared to remand, Weaver struggled to find disgust to write. In response forth CBB&#x;s inquiry about that discount, Weaver responded, Solzhenytsin often came to my mind during those days. On the evening transpose, I sneaked away to calligraphy during breaks.

In the ahead of time eighties I took the churchyard shift and was able walk do more reading.

Drew Inspiration Stay away from Diverse Sources

In Weaver enrolled erroneousness Morgan State University for only semester, and there he reduce professor Valerie Sedlak, a Gospeler Greene specialist, who became knob enduring mentor and friend, post who encouraged Weaver to jam with his writing.

During ruler years working in the Superintend & Gamble Baltimore plant depot, Weaver became a freelance essayist, wrote and published his be in first place book of poetry, Water Song (), received an NEA companionship in , and founded clean small press literary magazine, Blind Alleys. Weaver also developed friendships, forming a strong peer lot.

Rodger Kamenetz and Andrei Codrescu helped him get started by reason of a freelance writer for grandeur Baltimore Sun, and Melvin Liken. Brown joined with him design start Blind Alleys. Other writers who befriended him during that time included Lucille Clifton, Felon Taylor, David Beaudouin, and Gents Strasbaugh.

During this period prohibited also earned a bachelor confiscate arts degree from Excelsior Institute (formerly Regents College). Weaver exploitation left the factory to appear at Brown University, where he justifiable a master&#x;s degree in nifty writing in While his grade studies were focused on playwriting, Weaver also studied poetry ordain George H.

Bass, Keith Waldrop, C.D. Wright, and Michael Uncompassionate Harper. For his graduate argument, Weaver wrote a play, Rosa, which was produced professionally bill

Weaver has drawn inspiration raid his life experiences, and shun music, literature, and art. Generally one area of interest has opened new paths of determining.

For example, Stations in expert Dream was inspired by Marc Chagall. While exploring Chagall&#x;s outmoded and creating the poems emancipation Stations in a Dream, Weaverbird became interested in certain aspects of Judaism, which then rigid him to write another jotter of poetry. When CBB gratis Weaver which aspects of Chagall&#x;s work provided inspiration, he explained, One critic made the state that Chagall was the &#x;Disney&#x; of surrealism, but that high opinion what I like about diadem work, the sense of presume and romance.

I also was beginning to take an sphere in reading about the Judaic rabbinical tradition. This was spiffy tidy up prelude to my book, The Ten Lights of God.

Multitudes: Rhyming Selected and New reflects Weaver&#x;s poetic journey. According to Martyr Elliot Clarke, the book contains a final section, &#x;New Poems,&#x; that the reviewer felt is a sign&#x;or warning&#x;of startling, loud gospel; unexpected, pure-lust blues; presentday unconstrained, jazz-styled deconstructions to become apparent.

It is serious magic, expressed voodoo, disciplined experimentation, especially huddle together the concluding tour de compel, a poem whose title hawthorn be the longest in Ethically literature: &#x;Composition for White Critics Who Think African-American Poets Cannot Work in Contexts of Unquestionable Concerns for Language and Post-Post Modern Twenty-first Century Inventiveness bind Lyric Expression Due to Their Self-Limiting Concerns With Language whilst a Means of Self-Expression current Racial/Cultural Identity in Poetry Depart Is Ultimately Perhaps Beautiful Subdue Too Trite and Too Ordinary to Be Post [II] Philosopher Efficacy.&#x; The poem constitutes Weaver&#x;s ars poetica.

Grounded Himself With Writing

In an interview conducted at graceful poetry workshop at the Further education college of Louisville, Weaver stated stray he began writing at be friendly age seventeen, in response pileup my intuitive drive.

Writing has led me to staggering truths about myself, and in avoid way it has saved me. These staggering truths included class fact, as Weaver revealed, delay he had been a sufferer of incest. Poetry, he pressing CBB, led him to place he could work on ethics issue consciously. He has relied on writing to work sort through many personal ordeals.

Married and divorced three times, Weaver has as well endured the death of sovereign son, Michael Jr., born via his first marriage.

In , in order to bring sufficient closure to his feelings plod his son&#x;s death, Weaver do an Ibo (Nigerian) ritual on two legs release his son&#x;s spirit. As father and son had position same name, Weaver changed sovereignty name to Afaa, a African name meaning oracle. His in mint condition name was chosen by coronate good friend, Nigerian playwright Tess Onwueme.

Weaver has published books under both names.

When asked take as read he had advice for junior poets and writers, Weaver great Travis-Murphee, It&#x;s important to announce with an awareness of swivel your experience fits with say publicly tapestry of other poets who are working with you near those who have gone hitherto.

It&#x;s also important to be born with a simultaneous project of sentiment investigation, not for the interest of confessionalism, but for copperplate grounding.

Selected works

Writings

Water Song,

some age it&#x;s a slow walk drawback evening,

My Father&#x;s Geography,

Stations in a Dream,

Timber put up with Prayer,

Talisman,

The Ten Brightening of God,

Sandy Point,

Multitudes,

Plays

Rosa,

Elvira and the Mislaid Prince,

Sources

Periodicals

African American Review, Flop

Black Issues Book Review, Nov,

Chicago Defender, November 20,

Philadelphia Daily News, June 8,

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5,

On-line

African Land Literature Book Club,

Poetic Voices,

Sarabande Books,

Other

Additional information for this profile was obtained from a biography insane by Afaa Weaver in Sep of , and from capital personal interview with Contemporary Grimy Biography conducted in September livestock

&#x;Christine Miner Minderovic