Sheri Booker

Last updated
Sheri Booker
Born Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation author, poet
Citizenship United States
Notable awardsNAACP Image Award
Website
www.sheribooker.com

Sheri Booker is an American author, poet, spoken word artist, and teacher. She is the author of Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner-City Funeral Home, a memoir about the near-decade she spent working at an inner-city funeral home in West Baltimore. [1] [2] Following the book's publication, she won an NAACP Image Award in the category of "Outstanding Literary Work from a Debut Author." She was nominated for the 2014 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in the category of nonfiction. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Booker grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. She began working at the Wylie Funeral Home in West Baltimore in 1997, when she was 15, partly to help her cope with her grief after the death of her aunt. Shortly thereafter, her mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Booker attended Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science. She received a master's degree in creative nonfiction from Goucher College. [4]

Career

While studying for her master's degree, Booker began writing the memoir, Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner-City Funeral Home, which was published in 2013. [5] Her other published works include One Woman, One Hustle (2003) and the video book I Am the Poem (2011). [6] [7] In 2007, she lived in South Africa, where she helped teach young African women the fundamental skills of journalism and worked as an editorial assistant for an international literary magazine. [3] [4] [8]

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References

  1. NPR Staff (June 1, 2013). "'Nine Years' In A Baltimore Funeral Home". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. Meisel, Abigail (August 23, 2013). "Chronicle: Memoirs by Women". New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 Rector, Kevin (February 23, 2014). "Baltimore author Sheri Booker wins NAACP Image Award". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 McCauley, Mary Carole (June 1, 2013). "'Nine Years Under' tells of author's coming of age in a Baltimore funeral home". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. "Nonfiction Book Review: Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner City Funeral Home by Sheri Booker. Gotham, $26 (261) ISBN 978-1-592-40712-5". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  6. Scribner, Cristina (August 19, 2014). "Q&A Session with Award-Winning Author, Sheri Booker". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  7. "NDMU Grad Sheri Booker Nominated for NAACP Image Award". ndmu.edu. Notre Dame Maryland Newsroom. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. Bailey, Lee (June 10, 2014). "EUR Spotlight On: Brilliant Award Winning Author Sheri Booker". eurweb.com. Electronic Urban Report.