devorah major | Author

devorah major
free spirit looking toward the future

Latest News & Events

Book Bay reading series- Valentine's Day reading

Dec.05.2012

Book Bay reading series- Valentine's Day reading

devorah major and Adrian Arias will be the featured poets in this free Valentine's Evening reading. Poetry and love and love poetry will abound.

Featured Works

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PUBLISHED: Oct.15.2004

So Long Been Dreaming

So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy is an anthology of original new stories by leading African, Asian, South Asian and Aboriginal authors, as well as North American and British writers of color. Stories of imagined futures abound in Western writing. Writer and editor Nalo Hopkinson notes that the science fiction/fantasy genre "speaks so much about...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.01.2004

My California: Journeys By Great Writers

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PUBLISHED: Oct.01.2003

Where River Meets Ocean

This collection of poetry begins with the poet's inaugural address as Laureate of San Francisco, a sparkling essay that shows how poetry can please and empower. Strong, introspective and caring, major's poems capture the challenge and joy of being an artist, as they survey the political and social landscapes of one of America's favorite cities.

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PUBLISHED: Sep.01.2003

Steady as She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea

Veteran seafarers and anyone who has dreamed of running away to sea in her very own boat or simply savored the smell of the salty air on the water’s edge will be inspired by this well-crafted and varied collection. Steady as She Goes is both a testament to women’s enduring relationship with the sea and a gripping and illuminating read. Whether commercial fishing in Alaska’s...

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PUBLISHED: May.01.2003

With More Than Tongue

Award-winning writer, performer, and teacher devorah major became the third Poet Laureate of San Francisco in April 2002. The author of countless essays, short stories, and poems, major has presented her work across the United States and Europe. Her writings have been published in The Single Mother?s Companion, Practicing Angels, and ZYZZYVA, among others. She received a writing...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.01.2002

Brown Glass Windows

Brown Glass Windows is the story of the Evermans, an African-American family in the Filmore District of San Francisco and the tragic history of their son, Ranger, who returns scarred from his experiences in Vietnam and struggles with drug addiction. Ironically, when he finally conquers his drug habit, he is killed meaninglessly in a drive-by shooting. Ranger's death causes the...

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PUBLISHED: Mar.01.2002

Rosa Parks: Freedom Fighter

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PUBLISHED: Feb.01.1997

An Open Weave

Melodic and vibrant, this debut novel braids together three generations of an extended African-American family in which everyone is fiercely and uncompromisingly bound by love and loyalty. The story explores in particular the lives of the women in the family: Ernestine, the blind grandmother who weaves astonishing cloths; Iree, her epileptic and visionary daughter; Imani, Iree's...

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PUBLISHED: Apr.01.1996

Street Smarts

A stunning new voice in African-American poetry, Devorah Major in street smarts explores the hardships of life in the streets, the damage that is done there, and the strategies for survival. Hers is a powerful, affirmative voice that is joyful and proud.

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PUBLISHED: Nov.01.1995

i hear a symphony

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PUBLISHED: Nov.01.1994

The Single Mother's Companion: Essays and Stories by Women

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PUBLISHED: Dec.01.1992

Adam of Ife: Black Women in Praise of Black Men

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PUBLISHED: Jan.01.1991

Remembering What Happened

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PUBLISHED: Jan.01.1989

Traveling Women

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PUBLISHED: Apr.01.1988

California Childhood: Recollections and Stories of the Golden State

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PUBLISHED: Jul.01.1986

Practicing Angels: A Contemporary Anthology of San Francisco Bay Area Poetry

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PUBLISHED:

Food For Thought

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PUBLISHED:

Girls Like Us

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PUBLISHED:

Fathersongs

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PUBLISHED:

Saints of Hysteria

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PUBLISHED:

Pushcart Prize XII: Best of the Small Presses

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PUBLISHED:

Frederick Douglass: A Hero for All Times

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devorah's Latest Blogs

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Feb.17.2013 - 11:59 am

The Next Big Thing - Part of the Chain

Opal Palmer Adisa tagged me in The Next Big Thing writers chain. A series of questions about writers, their current projects, process are asked of one writer who then...

Dec.13.2012 - 8:33 pm

Racing Advertising

In 1968 when Martin Luther King came to Memphis to support the sanitation worker strike, he presided over one of the most courageous and inspirational marches. A group...

Dec.05.2012 - 6:34 pm

Returning to the Blog and Collaborations in Poetry

I’m back. Again. I actually enjoy writing a blog but seem to have so many projects on my plate at any time that making room for keeping up a blog just falls down the...

Jul.22.2011 - 1:23 pm

Reaching for the Sunlight- Pelican Bay Hunger Strike

Six by ten is the amount of space prisoners are given in Pelican Bay Prison high security prison. Imagine your bed, sink, toilet, and personal items allowed and you in this space...

Comments from devorah

Dec.17.2012 - 1:27 pm

In response to: Racing Advertising

Memphis Remembered

Thank you Jeanne. I am also reminded of the way body parts were saved from lynching victums. FIngers and...

Dec.13.2012 - 8:38 pm

In response to: Racing Advertising

the tote

Nov.15.2010 - 8:28 pm

In response to: Gate Keepers to the "True" Black Poetic

Sad but

Sad, but oh so true. But to be satisfied as an artist one should say what needs to be said. If one wants to be a...

Nov.15.2010 - 12:44 am

In response to: Gate Keepers to the "True" Black Poetic

Cultural relevance

Point well taken in terms of your poet friend, but I was trying to speak to the idea that what we write and how we...

Oct.20.2010 - 4:09 pm

In response to: Imperatives of Writng and Blogs

Fresh ideas

Yes, for me there is sometimes a sense of which way do I turn. I wanted to write an Oscar Grant poem but I had written...

Writing

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Poem: harvest

Poem: A Neighborhood Boy

Article: Creating and Perfecting the Writers Group

Published Reviews

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Jun.22.1998

An Open Weave

Published by Meleus

Audio & Video

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Video: Love Offering

Video: a red love poem

Video: poetry

About devorah

Born and raised in California but traveling throughout the United States and Europe, Asia and parts of the Caribbean devorah major served as San Francisco Poet Laureate 2002 through 2006. In addition to being a poet she is a performer, lecturer, fiction...

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