Michael S. Harper
Michael S. Harper was an influential African American poet and educator, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938. Raised in a middle-class family that valued music and poetry, Harper's early exposure to the works of notable figures like Langston Hughes shaped his literary pursuits. His experiences with racism, particularly after relocating to West Los Angeles, heightened his awareness of societal issues, which he later addressed through his writing. Harper initially studied premedicine but pivoted to focus on English, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree, including a stint at the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he faced challenges as the only African American student.
Over his career, Harper taught at several institutions, most notably Brown University, where he served for over four decades until his retirement in 2013. He was recognized as Rhode Island's first poet laureate from 1988 to 1993 and received the Frost Medal for lifetime achievement in 2008. Harper authored fifteen poetry collections and contributed extensively to various literary journals and anthologies. He passed away in 2016, leaving behind a legacy of impactful literature and a family, including three surviving children.
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Subject Terms
Michael S. Harper
American poet
- Date of birth: March 18, 1938
- Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York
- Date of death: May 7, 2016
- Place of death: Rhinebeck, New York
Author Profile
Michael Steven Harper was born in Brooklyn, New York, to postal worker Walter Warren Harper and medical stenographer Katherine Johnson. The oldest of three children born to a middle-class African American family, he was encouraged to follow the career path of his grandfather and great-grandfather, both doctors. However, Harper's intense interest in the rhythms of language and in exploring the apparent schisms in American society led him instead to his dual vocations of writer and scholar.
In the Harper home, music and poetry were important parts of family life. Poems by Langston Hughes were a familiar presence in Harper’s childhood home. Harper’s parents also owned an extensive collection of contemporary jazz recordings. The poet has recalled spending many happy hours listening to Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane, among others.
As an adolescent, Harper was forced into an awareness of racism in the United States when his family moved from New York to West Los Angeles, where African Americans were frequently the targets of racial violence. During high school, Harper began experimenting with creative writing. After graduating, he briefly attended Los Angeles City College before moving to Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles) to complete his undergraduate studies, while also working full time for the post office. Although he entered college as a premedical student, he soon decided to focus on his writing instead, ultimately earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English.
After completing his bachelor’s degree in 1961, Harper attended the famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, where he was forced to live in segregated housing. As the only African American student in his poetry and fiction workshop classes, Harper endured further misunderstanding and prejudice, experiences that motivated him to confront the dualism inherent in being an African American writer.
Harper interrupted his studies at Iowa to enter the student-teacher program at Pasadena City College in 1962. He became the first African American to complete the program, and after finishing his courses at Iowa and earning his master of fine arts degree in 1963, he accepted an instructorship at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California. This was the beginning of an extensive and distinguished teaching career. He served on the faculty of Brown University from 1970 until his retirement in 2013. Harper was the first poet laureate of Rhode Island, holding the post from 1988 to 1993. In 2008, he received the prestigious Frost Medal for lifetime achievement from the Poetry Society of America. In addition to his fifteen collections of poetry, Harper contributed to numerous journals and anthologies and edited several anthologies of poetry. He also served on the editorial boards of the literary journals TriQuarterly, the Georgia Review, and Obsidian.
Harper married Shirley Ann Buffington in 1965; they had five children, two of whom died as infants, before divorcing in 1998. Harper died in Rhinebeck, New York, on May 7, 2016, at the age of seventy-eight. He was survived by his daughter Rachel, sons Roland and Patrice, and two grandchildren.
Bibliography
Breslin, Paul. “Some Early Returns.” Rev. of Images of Kin: New and Selected Poems, by Michael S. Harper, et al. Poetry May 1979: 107–14. Print.
Brown, Joseph A. “Their Long Scars Touch Ours: A Reflection on the Poetry of Michael Harper.” Callaloo 26 (1986): 209–20. Print.
Feldman, Keith. “Harper, Michael S.” Encyclopedia of African-American Literature. Ed. Wilfred D. Samuels. 2nd ed. New York: Facts on File, 2013. Print.
Forbes, Calvin. Rev. of Honorable Amendments, by Michael S. Harper. African American Review 32.3 (1998): 508–10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Grimes, Williams. "Michael S. Harper, Poet with a Jazz Pulse, Dies at 78." New York Times. New York Times, 10 May 2016. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.
Harper, Michael S. “Magic: Power: Activation: Transformation.” Interview by Richard Jackson. Acts of Mind: Conversations with Contemporary Poets. By Jackson. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1983. Print.
Harper, Michael S. “The Map and the Territory: An Interview with Michael S. Harper.” Interview by Michael Antonucci. African American Review 34.3 (2000): 501–9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Harper, Michael S. “Michael S. Harper, ‘Grandfather.’” Fifty Contemporary Poets: The Creative Process. Ed. Alberta T. Turner. New York: McKay, 1977. 139–42. Print.
Harper, Michael S. “My Poetic Technique and the Humanization of the American Audience.” Black American Literature and Humanism. Ed. R. Baxter Miller. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1981. 27–32. Print.
Lehman, David. “Politics.” Rev. of Debridement, by Michael S. Harper, et al. Poetry Dec. 1973: 173–80. Print.
Lieberman, Laurence. Unassigned Frequencies: American Poetry in Review, 1964–77. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1977. Print.
"Michael S. Harper." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2016. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.
Stepto, Robert B. “Let’s Call Your Mama and Other Lies about Michael S. Harper.” Callaloo 13.4 (1990): 801–4. JSTOR. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
Young, Al, Larry Kart, and Michael S. Harper. “Jazz and Letters: A Colloquy.” TriQuarterly (Winter 1987): 118–58. Print.