Joyce Carol Thomas is an African-American poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

, motivational speaker

Motivational speaker

A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...

, and best-selling author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 of more than 30 children's books. She was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...

 and currently resides in Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

. She moved with her family in 1948 to Tracy, California

Tracy, California

Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States and an exurb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 82,922 at the 2010 census.-History:...

. Thomas received a Master of Arts Degree from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. Her 1982 novel Marked by Fire

Marked by Fire

Marked by Fire is a 1982 novel by Joyce Carol Thomas that won the United States 1983 National Book Award. The story follows the life of Abyssinia "Abby" Jackson, whose home in Oklahoma is destroyed by a tornado and fire....

won her the prestigious National Book Award

National Book Award

The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...

. Her many awards and honors also include the American Book Award, several Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year Award, and an Outstanding Woman of the 20th Century Award.

External links

• Write TV Public Television Interview with Joyce Carol Thomas
• http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/tnauthors/authors/thomas-j.html
• http://www.joycecarolthomas.com