June Jordan Biography

American poet and essayist, born in New York City, where she was educated at Barnard College. Since the 1960s, when she was active in the civil rights movement, she has taught at various colleges throughout the USA and became Professor and Afro-American Studies and Women's Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989. Jordan's work testifies to her belief in the inseparability of personal and political realities through its characteristic grounding of her statements against racism and sexism in her own emotional and social experiences. Her poetry, noted for the lyrical energy of its free verse forms, has appeared in numerous collections which include Some Changes (1971), Things That I Do in the Dark (1977), and Living Room (1985); Naming Our Destiny: New and Selected Poems was published in 1989. Civil Wars (1981), Moving towards Home (1989), and Technical Difficulties: African-American Notes on the State of the Union (1992) are among the collections of her essays, which often combine vivid reportage with the powerful expression of her political creed.