Lisa Jones

Last updated
Lisa Jones
Born (1961-08-15) August 15, 1961 (age 62)
Nationality American
Alma mater Yale University (B.A.)
New York University (M.F.A.)
Occupations
Years active1961–present
SpouseKenneth S. Brown
Parent(s) Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka

Lisa Victoria Chapman Jones (born August 15, 1961) [1] is an American playwright, essayist, journalist, and memoirist.

Contents

Personal life and education

Jones grew up in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. [2] She is the daughter of poets Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones). [3] Jones graduated from Yale University and received a MFA in Film from New York University. She married Kenneth S. Brown in 2004 and their daughter was born in 2005. She is Jewish. [4]

Her sister, Kellie Jones, [1] is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. [5] Jones has a half-brother, Newark, New Jersey, mayor Ras Baraka, and a half-sister, Dominique di Prima, from Amiri's relationship with di Prima's mother. [6] [7]

Journalism

Jones joined the staff of the Village Voice in 1984 and wrote for the paper for 15 years. [8] She was known for her "Skin Trade" columns in the Village Voice, a selection of which were published as a book, Bulletproof Diva, [9] in 1994. [10]

Published works

Jones published a memoir, Good Girl in a Bad Dress, in 1999. [11] She also co-wrote three books with Spike Lee, all companion books to his films: Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Daze , [12] published in 1988, Do the Right Thing , published in 1989, [13] and Mo' Better Blues , [14] published in 1990. Her essays have been widely anthologized. One anthology is Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair. [15]

Plays

Jones wrote the plays Carmella & King Kong and Combination Skin while involved with the Rodeo Caldonia, a feminist collective of African-American women artists. [16] [17] Combination Skin went on to premiere at Company One in Hartford, CT, in 1992. The New York Times Theater review called her "a fresh talent" and praised her "all-consuming vision". [18] Combination Skin was anthologized in Contemporary Plays by Women of Color. [2] Jones also created three works for the New American Radio series of National Public Radio: Aunt Aida's Hand (1989), Stained (1991), and Ethnic Cleansing (1993). [19] Aunt Aida's Hand and Stained were collaborations with Alva Rogers, who was also a Rodeo Caldonia member. [17] [19] In 1995, Jones and Rogers received a joint choreography and creator Bessie Award for their collaborative work. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane di Prima</span> American poet (1934–2020)

Diane di Prima was an American poet, known for her association with the Beat movement. She was also an artist, prose writer, and teacher. Her magnum opus is widely considered to be Loba, a collection of poems first published in 1978 then extended in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Arts Movement</span> 1960s–1970s art movement

The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from the incredible accomplishments of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Crouch</span> American writer and cultural critic (1945–2020)

Stanley Lawrence Crouch was an American poet, music and cultural critic, syndicated columnist, novelist, and biographer. He was known for his jazz criticism and his 2000 novel Don't the Moon Look Lonesome?

Jazz poetry has been defined as poetry that "demonstrates jazz-like rhythm or the feel of improvisation" and also as poetry that takes jazz music, musicians, or the jazz milieu as its subject. Some critics consider it a distinct genre though others consider the term to be merely descriptive. Jazz poetry has long been something of an "outsider" art form that exists somewhere outside the mainstream, having been conceived in the 1920s by African Americans, maintained in the 1950s by counterculture poets like those of the Beat generation, and adapted in modern times into hip-hop music and live poetry events known as poetry slams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroz con pollo</span> Traditional dish of Spain and Latin America

Arroz con pollo is a traditional dish of Latin America. It typically consists of chicken cooked with rice, onions, saffron, and a potential plethora of other grains or vegetables. In the Dominican Republic it is alternately called locrio de pollo, and in Saint Martin it is called lokri or locreo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth A. Gibson</span> American politician (1932–2019)

Kenneth Allen Gibson was an American politician of the Democratic Party who was the 36th mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 1970 to 1986. He was the first ever African American mayor of a major city in the Northeastern United States.

A Black Mass is a play written by Amiri Baraka and performed at Proctor's Theatre in Newark, New Jersey in 1966. Baraka also recorded a version of the play with Sun Ra's Myth-Science Orchestra in 1968. The play is based on the religious doctrine of Yakub as taught by the Nation of Islam, and it describes the origin of white people according to this doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiri Baraka</span> African-American writer (1934–2014)

Amiri Baraka, previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous books of poetry and taught at several universities, including the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University. He received the PEN/Beyond Margins Award in 2008 for Tales of the Out and the Gone. Baraka's plays, poetry, and essays have been described by scholars as constituting defining texts for African-American culture.

Dutchman is a play written by African-American playwright Amiri Baraka, then known as LeRoi Jones. Dutchman was first presented at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, New York City, in March 1964 co-produced by Rita Fredricks. The play won an Obie Award; it shared this distinction with Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro. Baraka's stage play was made into a film in 1967, starring Shirley Knight and Al Freeman Jr. Dutchman was the last play produced by Baraka under his birth name, LeRoi Jones. At the time, he was in the process of divorcing his Jewish wife, Hettie Jones, and embracing Black nationalism. Dutchman may be described as a political allegory depicting black and white relations during the time Baraka wrote it.

Black Horizons Theater was a community-based, Black Nationalist theater company co-founded in 1968 by Curtiss Porter, Tony Fountain, E. Philip McKain, August Wilson and Rob Penny in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

The Poet Laureate of New Jersey was an honor presented biennially by the Governor of New Jersey to a distinguished New Jersey poet. Created in 1999, this position existed for less than four years and was abolished by the legislature effective July 2, 2003. When the New Jersey State Legislature created the laureate position, the bill provided specifically for the creation of an award named in honor of twentieth-century poet and physician William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) who resided in Rutherford, New Jersey. However, the legislature recognized that the award's recipient would "be considered the poet laureate of the State of New Jersey for a period of two years." Before the position was abolished, only two poets, Gerald Stern and Amiri Baraka, had been appointed as the state's poet laureate.

Askia Muhammad Touré is an African-American poet, essayist, political editor, and leading voice of the Black Arts Movement. Toure helped to define a new generation of black consciousness by creating a triumphal identity for the purpose of uplifting the African heritage beyond the oppressive ideas that dominated the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ras Baraka</span> American educator and politician (born 1970)

Ras Jua Baraka is an American educator, author, and politician who is the 40th and current Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He was previously a member of the Municipal Council of Newark and the principal of the city's Central High School until he took an indefinite leave of absence to run for the 2014 Newark mayoral election, which he won on May 13, 2014. Baraka was sworn in as the city's 40th mayor at ceremonies at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on July 1, 2014, for a four-year term. He won re-election twice in 2018 and 2022.

Kellie Jones is an American art historian and curator. She is a Professor in Art History and Archaeology in African American Studies at Columbia University. She won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2016. In 2023, she was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Dominique di Prima is a radio personality, producer and activist in Los Angeles. Her work focuses on issues concerning African American communities. Since 2005 she has hosted The Front Page, a morning show on Radio Free 102.3 KJLH. Di Prima was host and producer of the talk show Street Science with Dominique di Prima for almost nine years on 100.3-FM The Beat. Street Science won L.A. Weekly "Best of L.A." award, and a Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television. Prior to her work in radio di Prima worked in television for San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON-TV. Di Prima has won five Emmy Awards, six Parents' Choice Awards, an Ollie and the SAG/AFTRA American Scene Award for positive portrayals of women, the disabled, senior citizens and people of color. In May 2017 di Prima was honored as "Pioneer Woman of the Year" at the Los Angeles City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alva Rogers</span>

Alva Rogers is an American playwright, composer, actor, vocalist, and arts educator. She is known for the use of dolls and puppetry in interdisciplinary work. Rogers performed in the role of Eula Peazant in Julie Dash's 1991 film Daughters of the Dust. and was a vocalist in the New York City alternative rock band Band of Susans.

Amina Baraka is an American poet, actress, author, community organizer, singer, dancer, and activist. Her poetic themes are about social justice, family, and women. Her poetry has been featured in anthologies including Unsettling America (1994). She was active in the 1960s Black Arts Movement, as an artist.

Gloria Racine Bohanon was an American visual artist and educator based in Los Angeles, California. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She received a BA in Art Education and an MA in Art Education from Wayne State. She also studied at Otis College of Art and Design in 1973. She was an active member of the Los Angeles contemporary art scene in the 1970s. As a professor at Los Angeles Community College, she organized "Black Culture Week" in 1974. She taught design, painting, printmaking, and served as chair of the Arts Department while there. She was the director of ADAPT, an organization for disabled students while at LACC.

Rodeo Caldonia also known as Rodeo Caldonia High Fidelty Performance Theater was a black feminist arts collective based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn during the 1980s. The collective, which operated from about 1985-1988, included nearly 20 African American women who wanted to create feminist work that focused on their identities as Black women. The collective was founded by Lisa Jones and Alva Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine I. Turner</span>

Irvine I. Turner (1914–1974) politician who was the first Black official in Newark, New Jersey elected to the Municipal Council when he took office in 1954. He was also publisher and co-editor of a Black weekly newspaper The New Jersey Record. He was known for his "flamboyant personality and fiery rhetoric". Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson called him "a man who paved the way for black people to be elected to public office." Irvine Turner Boulevard, a large street in Newark, is named after him.

References

  1. 1 2 Ellis, Trey (1988). Platitudes & "The new black aesthetic". Northeastern University Press, Ann Arbor. ISBN   1-55553-586-0
  2. 1 2 Perkins, Kathy and Uno, Roberta (1996). Contemporary Plays by Women of Color: an anthology. London: Routledge. ISBN   0-415-11378-4
  3. Stetler, Carrie. "Still rebellious after all these years: Amiri Baraka turns 75, and Newark celebrates with five days of events", The Star-Ledger , Newark, NJ, October 2, 2009.
  4. Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama (June 29, 1994). "The World According to Lisa Jones : Literature: The essayist writes about a place where hair explains history and any woman with lip and nerve can be a 'bulletproof diva.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  5. "Kellie Jones Faculty Directory Department of Art History and Archaeology". Columbia University. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  6. "Amiri Baraka". DominiqueDiPrima.com. 28 June 2012.
  7. "City of Newark, NJ: Ras J. Baraka". City of Newark, New Jersey. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012.
  8. Tate, Greg. "License to Ill: Black journalism in the pages of the 'Voice'", Village Voice, New York, October 18, 2005.
  9. Jones, Lisa (1994). Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair. New York: Doubleday. ISBN   0-385-47122-X
  10. Solberg, Judy. "Prepub Alert", Library Journal, New York, December 1993.
  11. Jones, Lisa (1999). Good Girl in a Bad Dress. New York: Random House. ISBN   978-0-375-50180-7
  12. Jones, Lisa and Lee, Spike (1988). Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Daze. Fireside, New York. ISBN   0-671-64418-1
  13. Jones, Lisa and Lee, Spike (1989). Do the Right Thing. Fireside, New York. ISBN   0-671-68265-2
  14. Lee, Spike; Jones, Lisa (1990), Mo' Better Blues, Simon & Schuster, ISBN   978-0-671-72570-9
  15. "Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex, and Hair". Entertainment Weekly .
  16. Taumann, Beatrix (1999). Strange Orphans: Contemporary African American Women Playwrights. Würzburg, Königshausen & Neumann. ISBN   3-8260-1681-5
  17. 1 2 Shipp, E. R. "Their Muse Is Malcolm X", New York Times, December 4, 1988.
  18. Klein, Alvin. "Theater Review: In the 90's, Questions Of Color And Identity", New York Times, October 18, 1992.
  19. 1 2 "Lisa Jones and Alva Rogers: Stained". Somewhere.org. Archived from the original on 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  20. "'Bessies' Go to New Artists and Philip Glass", New York Times, September 18, 1995.

Further reading