Damon Young | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, editor |
| Language | English |
| Education | Canisius College |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Literary movement | Black |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Notable works | What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker |
| Children | 2 |
Damon Young (born December 30, 1978) [1] [2] is an American writer and editor. He is the co-founder of the website Very Smart Brothas. Young released his first book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker, in 2019 with HarperCollins. [3]
Young was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Vivienne and Wilbur Young. [4] He spent most of his adolescence in East Liberty. As a teenager, Young lived in Penn Hills where he became a basketball player for Penn Hills High School. [5] He earned a basketball scholarship at Canisius College, graduating with a degree in English in 2002. [6]
Young co-founded a website called Very Smart Brothas (VSB) in 2008 with D. Marcellus Wright, who uses the pen name Panama Jackson. [1] The website featured essays on pop culture, politics, and absurdist humor written for an African-American audience. Gizmodo Media Group acquired VSB in 2016. It is now a vertical on the website The Root. [7]
He is also a columnist for GQ , and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times . [7] [8] Young became a weekly contributing columnist for The Washington Post in January, 2022. [9]
Young signed a two-book publishing deal with HarperCollins' Ecco imprint in November 2016. [1] His first book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays, was released in March 2019. [10] Consisting of a collection of personal essays primarily about race, gender, class, and Black identity, [11] the book received positive critical attention. Publishers Weekly wrote in a review: "Young's charm and wit make these essays a pleasure to read; his candid approach makes them memorable." [12] Karamagi Rujumba wrote for the Post-Gazette: " 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker' is in equal parts a deeply introspective account of a life and an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism." [11] Michael Kleber-Diggs wrote for the Star Tribune : "Readers who know Young's work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit, and his keen mind." [13] The book won the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor. [14]
Ebony named him to its Power 100 2017 list under the Luminaries category. [15]
Young is married and has a daughter and son. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [3] [16]
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