Michael S. Harper

Michael Steven Harper (born March 18, 1938) is an African American poet from Brooklyn who has published ten books of poetry. He earned his B.A. and M.A. from what is now called California State University, and an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. His "Dear John, Dear Coltrane", from 1970 was nominated for the National Book Award. He was also the poet laureate for Rhode Island from 1988 to 1993. Harper currently lives in Barrington, Rhode Island. A great deal of his poetry is influenced by jazz and history.^[1]