Soulscript: Afro-American Poetry

June Jordan, Professor of African American Studies at U.C. Berkeley, was born in Harlem. Her eleven books of poetry include Kissing God Goodbye and Haruko/Love Poems. She was also the author of five children's books, a novel, three plays, a memoir, and five volumes of political essays, the most recent of which is Affirmative Acts. For more than show more ten years, she wrote a regular political column for The Progressive. She was the founder of Poetry for the People at U.C. Berkeley, where she received the Berkeley Citation for Distinguished Achievement. Among June Jordan's numerous honors were a Rockefeller grant, the PEN Center U.S.A. West Freedom to Write Award, and a Special United States Congressional Recognition for "outstanding contributions to literature, the civil rights movement, and in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community." June Jordan died in Berkeley, California on June 14, 2002 show less