Naomi Long Madgett
Encyclopedia
Naomi Long Madgett is an African American
poet, born Naomi Cornelia Long in Norfolk, Virginia
. Madgett was a teacher and an award winning poet, she is also the senior editor of Lotus Press, which is a publisher of poetry books by black poets.
, and began writing at an early age. While living in New Jersey, Madgett went to an integrated school where she faced racism
.
In 1937, her family moved to St. Louis
, where she was encouraged to write while attending high school. Madgett read a wide range of content, from both white and black writers, from Aesop's fables
and Robert T. Kerlin's anthology Negro Poets and Their Poems to Romantic and Victorian English poets such as John Keats
, William Wordsworth
, and Alfred Tennyson.
At age 17 Naomi published her first book of poetry "Songs to a Phantom Nightingale," a few days after graduating from high school.
Madgett attended Virginia State College (now Virginia State University
), and graduated in 1945 with a bachelor of arts degree.
Madgett married and moved to Detroit
, where she worked for the Michigan Chronicle and gave birth to a daughter, Jill in 1947. While living in Detroit, Madgett became a teacher in the Detroit public school system. Her poem "Midway," from her book of poetry "One and the Many," attracted wide attention as it portrayed black people struggles, and victories, in a time when racism was prevalent in the United States. In 1955, she graduated from Wayne State University
with a M.Ed.
In the 1960s, Madgett taught the first black literary course in the Detroit public school system. In 1968, she became a teacher in creative writing and black literature at Eastern Michigan University
. Madgett taught at Eastern Michigan until her retirement in 1984.
Some of her poems have been set up as songs and publicly performed.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
poet, born Naomi Cornelia Long in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. Madgett was a teacher and an award winning poet, she is also the senior editor of Lotus Press, which is a publisher of poetry books by black poets.
Life and work
Madgett was the daughter of a Baptist minister, and spent her childhood in East Orange, New JerseyEast Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, and began writing at an early age. While living in New Jersey, Madgett went to an integrated school where she faced racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
In 1937, her family moved to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where she was encouraged to write while attending high school. Madgett read a wide range of content, from both white and black writers, from Aesop's fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
and Robert T. Kerlin's anthology Negro Poets and Their Poems to Romantic and Victorian English poets such as John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
, William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, and Alfred Tennyson.
At age 17 Naomi published her first book of poetry "Songs to a Phantom Nightingale," a few days after graduating from high school.
Madgett attended Virginia State College (now Virginia State University
Virginia State University
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on , Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans...
), and graduated in 1945 with a bachelor of arts degree.
Madgett married and moved to Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, where she worked for the Michigan Chronicle and gave birth to a daughter, Jill in 1947. While living in Detroit, Madgett became a teacher in the Detroit public school system. Her poem "Midway," from her book of poetry "One and the Many," attracted wide attention as it portrayed black people struggles, and victories, in a time when racism was prevalent in the United States. In 1955, she graduated from Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
with a M.Ed.
In the 1960s, Madgett taught the first black literary course in the Detroit public school system. In 1968, she became a teacher in creative writing and black literature at Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. Madgett taught at Eastern Michigan until her retirement in 1984.
Some of her poems have been set up as songs and publicly performed.
Awards
- Octavia and Other Poems (1988) which was national co-winner of the College Language Association Creative Achievement Award.
- Long Poetry Foundation offered its first annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award for excellence in a manuscript by an African American poet.
Publications
- One and the many: poems, Exposition Press, 1956
- Midway (1956)
- Pink Ladies in the Afternoon, Lotus Press, 1972 (Reprint 1990)