Artist Profile

Considered one of the most prolific African-American poets of all time, Wanda Coleman told Contemporary Poets, “Others often use the word ‘uncompromising’ to describe my work.”  The poet has experimented with fiction, screenwriting, and even dance. Her first short story, “Watching the Sunset,” appeared in Negro Digest in 1970.  In 1977, a pamphlet-like chapbook of Coleman's poems was issued by Black Sparrow Press.  Coleman garnered national attention from her poetry publications Mad Dog Black Lady (1979) and Imagoes (1983).  She was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry.