It’s National Poetry Day, and because the NOOGAtoday editors are both English majors, Chattanooga is getting a full, in-depth article on 1 of our city’s greatest poets who doesn’t get enough attention, Ishmael Reed. 📚
Fun facts
- Though raised in Buffalo, NY, Reed was born here in Chattanooga.
- His work extends beyond poems — he’s also published prose, essays, plays, and even song lyrics.
- Maybe we’re a bit biased, but our favorite Ishmael Reed poem is titled “Chattanooga,” and we’ll let you guess (or read for yourself) the subject matter.
- In fact, Reed published a whole book of poems under the title “Chattanooga.”
- He even has a daughter named Tennessee, who is also a writer.
Background + accolades
Known for his satirical work that often comments on race + politics, Reed grew up in Buffalo, NY, where he also attended college before dropping out his junior year. Despite leaving college before graduation, Reed received an honorary doctorate from the University of New York-Buffalo in 1995, and another from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte in 1998.
Throughout his career, Reed has earned various awards, founded or co-founded numerous writing + publishing groups and organizations, and worked at multiple prestigious universities. Some of the highlights (but only some — this guy has seriously done a lot) among these 3 overarching feats include:
- Winning the L.A. Times Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award, the Langston Hughes Medal, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poetry Association.
- Co-founding the “East Village Other,” an underground NYC newspaper that achieved a national reputation; founding the Before Columbus Foundation, an organization that promotes original + neglected writing from the Americas; and co-founding Reed, Cannon & Johnson Publishing Company.
- Holding positions at Yale, Harvard, and UC-Berkeley — where he taught for 30+ years.
Reed’s major works
- Mumbo Jumbo | Reed’s first work that helped him gain notoriety, “Mumbo Jumbo” is a mythic epic that is considered 1 of his best writings.
- The Free-Lance Pallbearers | “The Free-Lance Pallbearers’’ was Reed’s first novel + centers on the fictional kingdom of HARRY SAM in a largely satirical manner.
- The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda | Perhaps his most well-known work for younger generations, this play serves as a critique of Manuel’s own musical, “Hamilton.”
- Flight to Canada | Another of Reed’s most well-received works, “Flight to Canada” is a novel set during the Civil War about a slave who plans to run away from slavery into Canada.
- Conjure: Selected Poems | This book of poems was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and nominated for the National Book Award.
