Minnie Bruce Pratt
Encyclopedia
Minnie Bruce Pratt is an U.S.
educator, activist, and award-winning poet
, essayist, and theorist. Pratt was born in Selma, Alabama, grew up in Centreville,
Alabama and graduated with an honors B.A. from the University of Alabama
(1968) and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of North Carolina
(1979). She is a Professor of Writing and Women’s Studies at Syracuse University
where she was invited to help develop the university’s first Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender
Study Program. She emerged out of the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s and has written extensively about race, class, gender and sexual theory. Pratt, along with lesbian
writers Chrystos
and Audre Lorde
, received a Lillian Hellman-Dashiell Hammett award from the Fund for Free Expression to writers "who have been victimized by political persecution." Pratt, Chrystos and Lorde were chosen because their experience as "a target of right-wing and fundamentalist forces during the recent attacks on the National Endowment for the Arts
." Her political affiliations include the International Action Center
, the National Women's Fightback Network, and the National Writers Union
. She is a contributing editor to Workers World newspaper. Pratt's partner is author and activist Leslie Feinberg
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator, activist, and award-winning 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...
, essayist, and theorist. Pratt was born in Selma, Alabama, grew up in Centreville,
Alabama and graduated with an honors B.A. from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
(1968) and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(1979). She is a Professor of Writing and Women’s Studies at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
where she was invited to help develop the university’s first Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Study Program. She emerged out of the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s and has written extensively about race, class, gender and sexual theory. Pratt, along with lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
writers Chrystos
Chrystos
Chrystos is a Menominee rights activist and poet. Prior to being published, she worked as a home caretaker, and an activist for Turtle Mountain Band of Chipewa, Norma Jean Croy , and Leonard Peltier....
and Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist.-Life:...
, received a Lillian Hellman-Dashiell Hammett award from the Fund for Free Expression to writers "who have been victimized by political persecution." Pratt, Chrystos and Lorde were chosen because their experience as "a target of right-wing and fundamentalist forces during the recent attacks on the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
." Her political affiliations include the International Action Center
International Action Center
The International Action Center is an activist group founded by former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark. It supports anti-imperialist movements around the world, and opposes U.S. military intervention in all circumstances....
, the National Women's Fightback Network, and the National Writers Union
National Writers Union
National Writers Union , founded on November 19, 1981, is the trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers: journalists, book and short fiction authors, business and technical writers, web content providers, and poets...
. She is a contributing editor to Workers World newspaper. Pratt's partner is author and activist Leslie Feinberg
Leslie Feinberg
Leslie Feinberg is a transgender queer and communist activist, speaker, and author. Feinberg's first novel Stone Butch Blues is widely considered a groundbreaking work about gender.- Career :...
.
Published works
ASIN: B000HF76DW Chosen for the 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Nonfiction Books, by the Publishing Triangle, 2004. American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award in Literature 1991, The Lamont Poetry Selection of The Academy of American Poets, 1989. Best Gay and Lesbian Book of the Year by ForeWord: Magazine of Independent Bookstores and Booksellers, 2000. ASIN: B0006S92LE Chosen Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Poetry, 2003.Honors and awards
- 2005. Fellowship in Poetry, New Jersey State Council on the Arts
- 2003. Lambda Literary Award for
- 2002. The Lucille Medwick Memorial Award, Poetry Society of America, \"Picking Up a Job Application\"
- 1999. Independent Booksellers Award for
- 1991. American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award in Literature for
- 1990. The Harriete Simpson Arnow Prize for Poetry, from The American Voice
- 1990. Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry, from The National Endowment for the Arts
- 1989. The Lamont Poetry Selection of The Academy of American Poets for
External links
- Official site
- Page at Syracuse University
- Pratt, Minnie Bruce. "When I Say 'Steal,' Who Do You Think Of?", Southern Spaces, 21 July 2004.
- Pratt, Minnie Bruce. "No Place." Southern Spaces, July 27, 2004, http://southernspaces.org/2004/no-place.