June Jordan

Gwen Phillips

June Jordan was born in Harlem in 1936 and was the author of ten books of poetry, seven collections of essays, two plays, a libretto, a novel, a memoir, five children’s books, and June Jordan’s Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint. As a professor at UC Berkeley, Jordan established Poetry for the People, a program to train student teachers to teach the power of poetry from a multicultural worldview. She was a regular columnist for The Progressive and her articles appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times, Ms., Essence, and The Nation. After her death from breast cancer in 2002, a school in the San Francisco School District was renamed in her honor.

www.junejordan.com

Awards and Honors

US Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition

Lifetime Achievement Award, National Black Writers Conference

PEN Center USA West Freedom to Write Award

Nominee, National Book Award

Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award