KRLemmons African American Poetry, African American Poets

365 Black Books Porsha Olayiwola Saturday

Belated happy birthday Porsha Olayiwola! Born June 11, Porsha Olayiwola is native of Chicago who writes, lives and loves in Boston. Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator and curator who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She is an Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and the founder of the Roxbury Poetry Festival. Olayiwola is Brown University’s 2019 Heimark Artist -In -Residence as well as the 2021 Artist-in-Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. She is a 2020 poet laureate fellow with the Academy of American poets.

KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Poetry, African American Poets

365 Black Books Frank X. Walker Thursday

Happy birthday Frank X. Walker! Born June 11, Frank X. Walker is an African American poet from Danville, Kentucky. Walker coined the word “Affrilachia”, signifying the importance of the African American presence in Appalachia: the “new word … spoke to the union of Appalachian identity and the region’s African-American culture and history”. He was the winner of the 2025 PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection for his book Load in Nine Times.

KRLemmons African Authors, African Fiction, African Literature, Uncategorized

365 Black Books Niq Mhlongo Wednesday

Happy birthday Niq Mhlongo! Born June 10, 1973, Niq Mhlongo was born in Soweto. He has a BA from the University of the Witwatersrand, with majors in African Literature and Political Studies. His first novel, Dog Eat Dog, was published by Kwela in 2004 and was translated into Spanish under the title Perro Come Perro in 2006. This Spanish edition was awarded the La Mar de Letras prize.

I confess I have not read any of his books but I am interested in reading one of his novels.

KRLemmons African American adult fiction, African American Authors, African American Fantasy Literature, African American Young Adult Literature

365 Black Books Akwaeke Emezi Saturday

Happy birthday Akwaeke Emezi! Born June 6, Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian fiction writer and visual artist, best known for their novels Freshwater, Pet, and the New York Times bestselling work The Death of Vivek Oji. Emezi is a generalist who writes speculative fiction, romance, memoir, and poetry for both young adults and adults with mostly LGBTQ themes.

KRLemmons African American academic work

365 Black Books Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Thursday

Happy birthday Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham! Born June 4, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is an African American academic who is professor of Afro-American Studies, African American Religion and the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and African American Studies at Harvard University. Her most notable book is Righteous Discontent. She has co-authored From Slavery to Freedom and African American National Biography.