Biography

Wanda Coleman wrote 20 books of poetry and prose, focusing much of her work on the racism and poverty in Los Angeles. Never one to shy away from controversy her work often portrayed violence and centered around human pain. Coleman wrote with an unflinching eye about what it was like to be a poor, black woman in America.  Mad Dog Black Lady (1979) and Imagoes (1983) earned her a National Endowment for the Arts grant (1981-82) and a Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry (1984). Coleman wrote in many genres, including short stories, novels, journalism, and for T.V. Her 1998 poetry collection Bathwater Wine received the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, the first given to a work by an African American woman. Coleman died in 2013 following a long illness.

Publications

Title
Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems
Publisher
Black Sparrow Press
Editors
Terrance Hayes
Date
April 7, 2020
Publication type
Book
Title
The World Falls Away
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh Press
Date
Sep. 18, 2011
Publication type
Book
Title
Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales: New Stories
Publisher
Black Sparrow Press
Date
2008
Publication type
Book
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