Haki R. Madhubuti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haki R. Madhubuti (born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942 in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States) is a renowned African-American author, educator, and poet. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa, and served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1963.
Madhubuti is a major contributor to the Black literary tradition beginning in the mid-60s, and continuing to have major influences today. Over the years, he has published 24 books (some under his former name, "Don L. Lee") and is one of the world's best-selling authors of poetry and non-fiction, with books in print in excess of 3 million. His Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?: The African American Family in Transition (1990) has sold over 1,000,000 copies. His latest books are Claiming Earth: Race, Rage, Rape, Redemption (1994), GroundWork: New and Selected Poems 1966-1996 (1996), and HeartLove: Wedding and Love Poems (1998).
Madhubuti has also co-edited two volumes of literary works from "Gallery 37", releasing The Spirit (1998), and Describe the Moment (2000). His poetry and essays were published in over 30 anthologies from 1997 to 2001. He also wrote Tough Notes: A Healing Call For Creating Exceptional Black Men (2002).
He is a much sought-after poet and lecturer, and has convened workshops and served as guest/keynote speaker at thousands of colleges, universities, libraries and community centers in the U.S. and abroad. A proponent of independent Black institutions, Madhubuti is the founder, publisher, and chairman of the board of Third World Press (established in 1967), co-founder of the Institute of Positive Education/New Concept School (established in 1969), and co-founder of "Betty Shabazz International Charter School" (established 1998) in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a founder and board member of the National Association of Black Book Publishers, a founder and chairman of the board of The International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, and founder and director of the National Black Writers Retreat.
Currently, Madhubuti is the Distinguished University Professor, founder and director emeritus of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing and director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Chicago State University.
Madhubuti's latest book, Yellow Black, is an autobiographical novel detailing the first 21 years of his life.
The name Haki means "just" or "justice," and Madhubuti means "precise, accurate and dependable," both names deriving from the Swahili language. He changed his name in 1974.
Madhubuti is a vegan.
[edit] External links
- Haki R. Madhubuti at the African American Literature Book Club
- Haki R. Madhubuti at the Encyclopedia Britannica On-line
- Haki Madhubuti interview
- Haki Madhubuti Stars in Motherland (film)
