160:'s "Poetry Connexion", from 1981 to 1996. On the show they interviewed both local and internationally known writers. In a 2020 New Yorker article, author Ben Chiasson refers to an interview Coleman did with the Poetry Society of America where she describes herself as a “Usually Het Interracially Married Los Angeles-based African American Womonist Matrilinear Working Class Poor Pink/White Collar College Drop-out Baby Boomer Earth Mother and Closet Smoker Unmolested-by-her-father.”
239:," critic Dan Chiasson wrote "One of the greatest poets ever to come out of L.A., she shaped the city's literary scene like few before her. . . . Rarely does a poet seem to want to take an already brutally brief form and speed it up. But Coleman's sonnets are sprints, which is what makes their improvisations, modelled on American blues and jazz, so compelling."
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America, where unwarranted suspicions and the fear of terrorism threaten to overwhelm long-coveted individual freedoms, a book review seems rather insignificant—until the twin specters of censorship and oppression are raised. What has made our nation great, despite its tortuous history steeped in
278:. Coleman found the book to be "small and inauthentic, without ideas wisdom or vision". Coleman's review provoked positive and negative responses, including the cancellation of events and the rescinding of invitations. Her account of this incident appears in the September 16, 2002, edition of
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and its amendments. It is this striving toward making those freedoms available to every citizen, regardless of race, creed, color, gender or origin, that makes the rest of the insanity tolerable. It is what allows me to voice my opinion, be it praise song or dissent, no matter who
250:, Coleman's fans, new and old, will find some of her most vital challenges to American racism and its market-driven culture, rendered in her uniquely unsettling lyric voice. Her work pushes us to confront injustice with as much candor as she did—and with as much care."
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After divorcing her first husband, Coleman worked a variety of jobs to make ends meet as a single mother, including waiting, typing, and editing a soft-core pornography magazine. She wrote for a number of men's magazines under the pseudonym Andrew L. Tate.
104:, where she grew up during the 1950s and 1960s. She is the eldest of four children. Her parents were George and Lewana (Scott) Evans, who were introduced to one another at church by his aunt. In 1931, her father had relocated to Los Angeles from
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Coleman died on
November 22, 2013, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had been ill for a while. The Los Angeles Times described Coleman as "a force on the Los Angeles poetry scene" and the city's unofficial poet laureate.
149:(SNCC) in the 1960s. Their union produced two children, Luanda and Anthony. She went on to marry two more times. Her second marriage produced her second son, Ian. Her third husband was poet Austin Straus, whom she married in 1981.
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As of 2022, Wanda
Coleman has published fifteen poetry books and chapbooks, two mixed-genre books (poetry and fiction), two book of short stories, one novel, and two books of nonfiction.
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While critically acclaimed for her creative writing, Coleman's brush with notoriety came as a result of an unfavorable review she wrote in the April 14, 2002, issue of the
108:, after the lynching of a young man who was hung from a church steeple. He was an ex-boxer and long-time friend and sparring partner of Light Heavyweight Champion
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Within her writing, whether it be fiction, essays, or poetry, Coleman introduces and develops characters whose lives bring to light social inequalities.
22:(November 13, 1946 – November 22, 2013) was an American poet. She was known as "the L.A. Blueswoman" and "the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles".
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178:(in fiction and in poetry). She was the first C.O.L.A. Literary Fellow (Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, 2003). Her honors included an
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According to the Poetry
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in 2020. The collection draws work from all of
Coleman's Black Sparrow Press books, which spanned from 1983 to 2005. Author
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in a piece entitled "Heart First Into This Ruin", Lizzy LeRud wrote: "Today, Coleman's significance is unquestioned.... In
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Shortly after finishing high school, she married white
Southerner Charles Coleman, a troubleshooter for the
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has words to crack you open and heal you where it counts—hateful and hilarious, heartbroken and hellbent."
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in
Daytime Drama writing (the first African American woman to receive such an honor), the 1999
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661:"Literature and Race in Los Angeles," by Julian Murphet, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
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670:"City of Poems: The Lyric Voice in Los Angeles Since 1990," by Laurence Goldstein, from
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702:#6, Sam Pierstorff, Editor, Dept. of English, Modesto Junior College, California, 2006.
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658:, Vol. XXXIII, No. 4., Utah State University, Dept. of English, Logan UT, Winter 1999.
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slavery, are those who have persisted in honoring those freedoms, starting with the
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Western
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705:"The Fearless Invention of One of L.A.'s Greatest Poets," by Dan Chiasson in
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654:"Revising Western Criticism Through Wanda Coleman," essay by Krista Comer;
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quickly received critical acclaim upon publication. In a piece for the
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932:""Come. Glory in My Wonder's Will": An Interview with Wanda Coleman"
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Vol. 26, No.3, Dept. of
English, Texas A & M University, 2003.
677:"What Saves Us" interview of Coleman by Priscilla Ann Brown,
674:, Dana Gioia and Scott Timberg, Editors, Red Hen Press, 2003.
116:. Her mother worked as a seamstress and as a housekeeper for
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Ryan-Bryant, Jennifer (2014). "Biography of Wanda
Coleman".
816:"Writing Around the Edges: A Praise Song for Wanda Coleman"
289:
198:). She was a finalist for California poet laureate (2005).
179:
309:
Heart First Into This Ruin: The
Complete American Sonnets
667:, Jay Parini, Editor, article by Tony Magistrale, 2002.
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AMERICAN WRITERS: A Collection of Literary Biographies
237:
The Fearless Invention of One of L.A.'s Greatest Poets
691:"Wanda Coleman," cover and interview by Jeff Jensen,
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Heavy Daughter Blues: Poems & Stories 1968-1986
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688:, Philip Bader, Editor, Facts-on-File, NY, 2004.
529:African Sleeping Sickness: Stories & Poems
488:Native In a Strange Land: Trials & Tremors
777:The Riot Inside Me: More Trials & Tremors
385:The Riot Inside Me: More Trials & Tremors
1185:21st-century African-American women writers
1175:20th-century African-American women writers
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1099:Wicked Enchantment: Poems by Wanda Coleman
750:"LA's Unofficial Poet Laureate Dies At 67"
672:THE MISREAD CITY: New Literary Los Angeles
147:Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
140:California State University at Los Angeles
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936:MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S
209:, Coleman's longtime publisher, released
1021:"Book Reviewing, African-American Style"
348:. University of Pittsburgh Press. 2011.
130:in Los Angeles, Wanda Evans enrolled at
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636:The Dicksboro Hotel & Other Travels
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446:. Black Sparrow Press. 1999. p.
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684:"Wanda Coleman" biographical essay,
442:Mambo Hips and Make Believe: A Novel
156:She and Straus hosted a radio show,
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626:. Pudding House Publications. 2004.
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978:
698:"Wanda Coleman," featured poet in
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316:Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems
229:Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems
211:Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems
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1145:American women soap opera writers
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861:"Slideshow | AAA.womabuil_ref894"
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612:Chapbooks & Limited Editions
168:John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
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686:A-Z of African American Writers
550:A War of Eyes and Other Stories
435:(National Book Awards finalist)
405:Pitt Poetry Series, 2003–2004.
190:), and a finalist for the 2001
172:National Endowment for the Arts
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911:Ben, Chiasson (May 18, 2020).
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779:. David R. Godine Publisher.
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596:. Black Sparrow Press. 1979.
554:. Black Sparrow Press. 1988.
532:. Black Sparrow Press. 1990.
512:. Black Sparrow Press. 1993.
492:. Black Sparrow Press. 1996.
470:. Black Sparrow Press. 1998.
423:. Black Sparrow Press. 2001.
388:. Black Sparrow Press. 2005.
368:. Black Sparrow Press. 2008.
365:Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales
318:. Black Sparrow Press. 2020.
213:, Edited & Introduced by
644:. Black Sparrow Press. 1977.
311:. Black Sparrow Press. 2022.
96:Wanda Evans was born in the
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580:Black Sparrow Press. 1983.
128:John C. Fremont High School
120:, among other celebrities.
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1006:Heart First Into This Ruin
132:Los Angeles Valley College
1068:Academy of American Poets
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913:"Wanda Coleman,1946–2013"
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727:Academy of American Poets
275:A Song Flung Up to Heaven
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814:McInnis, Jarvis (2014).
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620:. Sore Dove Press. 2005.
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1074:Review of Wanda Coleman
930:Ryan, Jennifer (2015).
801:"The Poetry Foundation"
775:Coleman, Wanda (2005).
638:. Ambrosia Press. 1989.
632:Woodland Pattern. 1994.
176:California Arts Council
1165:Poets from Los Angeles
1130:African-American poets
335:(with Austin Straus).
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126:After graduating from
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184:Lenore Marshall Prize
138:. She transferred to
106:Little Rock, Arkansas
1135:American women poets
1103:Penguin Random House
1027:. September 16, 2002
995:. November 23, 2013.
962:"Wanda Coleman born"
345:The World Falls Away
192:National Book Awards
136:Van Nuys, California
1054:Black Sparrow Press
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242:Writing online for
207:Black Sparrow Press
593:Mad Dog Black Lady
248:Wicked Enchantment
223:Wicked Enchantment
114:RCA Victor Records
993:Los Angeles Times
630:American Sonnets.
333:The Love Project.
264:Los Angeles Times
205:After her death,
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266:Book Review
257:Controversy
102:Los Angeles
1114:Categories
1025:The Nation
971:2019-03-02
917:New Yorker
898:1695231357
870:2022-08-17
756:2013-11-25
714:References
509:Hand Dance
281:The Nation
235:entitled "
233:New Yorker
174:, and the
74:Occupation
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1083:AALBC.com
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219:Mary Karr
92:Biography
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894:ProQuest
845:March 8,
820:Callaloo
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