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Speaking of Stories transforming
short stories from the page to the stage
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MICHAEL S. HARPER Michael S. Harper, born in Brooklyn, New York, received a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Los Angeles and a master's degree from the University of Iowa. In addition to his career as a poet, he has held distinguished teaching posts at numerous colleges and universities across the country. Harper currently directs the writing program at Brown University. Jazz, the blues, spirituals, and the African American experience are integral to Harper's work. Poet David Ignatow, for the New York Times Book Review, states, "He is passionately identified with the history of his people. It is Mr. Harper's achievement to have projected his most difficult and complex insights and feelings through the epical manner, yet at the same time carried us along to identify with him." Harper has published numerous volumes of poetry, including Dear John, Dear Coltrane (University of Illinois, 1970), History is Your Own Heartbeat (1971), Nightmare Begins Responsibility (Illinois, 1975), Images of Kin: New and Selected Poems (Illinois, 1977), Healing Song for the Inner Ear (Illinois, 1985), and Honorable Amendments (Illinois, 1995). Among his many honors are a Black Academy of Arts and Letters award (1972), a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (1976); and a National Endowment for the Arts grant (1977). From 1988 to 1993, Harper was elected Poet Laureate for the State of Rhode Island.
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