Afaa M. Weaver

Afaa M. Weaver
Weaver reading poetry in 2013
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Baltimore, Maryland
Education
Occupations
  • Poet
  • short-story writer
  • editor

Afaa Michael Weaver (born 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland), formerly known as Michael S. Weaver, is an American poet, short-story writer, and editor. He is the author of numerous poetry collections, and his honors include a Fulbright Scholarship and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Foundation, and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He is the Director of the Writing Intensive at The Frost Place.[1]

Life

Born in Maryland, he studied two years at the University of Maryland. He started 7th Son Press and the literary journal Blind Alleys. He graduated from Brown University on a fellowship, with an M.A, and Excelsior University with a B.A. He taught at National Taiwan University and Taipei National University of the Arts as a Fulbright Scholar, and was a faculty member at the Cave Canem Foundation's annual retreat. In addition, he was the first to be named an elder of the Cave Canem Foundation. He also studied Chinese language at the Taipei Language Institute in Taiwan.[2]

He teaches at Simmons College, and is director of the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Center.[3] He is Chairman of the Simmons International Chinese Poetry Conference.[2] Tess Onwueme, the Nigerian playwright, gave him the Ibo name "Afaa", meaning "oracle", while Dr. Perng Ching-hsi has given him the Chinese name "Wei Yafeng".[4]

His poems have appeared in literary journals and magazines including Callaloo.[5]

Honors and awards

Published works

Full-length poetry collections

  • A Fire in the Hills (Pasadena: Red Hen Press, 2023)
  • Spirit Boxing (Pitt Poetry Series, 2017)
  • The City of Eternal Spring(Pitt Poetry Series, 2014)
  • A Hard Summation (Central Square Press, 2014)
  • The Government of Nature (Pitt Poetry Series, 2013)
  • The Plum Flower Dance: Poems 1985 to 2005 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007)
  • Multitudes. Sarabande Books. 2000. ISBN 978-1-889330-41-9.
  • The Ten Lights of God. Bucknell University Press. February 2000. ISBN 978-0-8387-5434-4.
  • Timber and Prayer: The Indian Pond Poems (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995)
  • My Father’s Geography (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992)
  • Water Song. University Press of Virginia. 1985. Callaloo series
  • Sandy Point. Engravings Rosalyn Richards. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: The Press of Appletree Alley.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

Plays

  • Rosa was produced in 1993 at Venture Theater in Philadelphia

Anthologies edited

Anthology publications

References

  1. ^ "Meet Afaa Michael Weaver, The Frost Place Writing Intensive Director". The Frost Place. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Bio". aalbc.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Founder". Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Poets, Academy of American. "About Afaa Michael Weaver | Academy of American Poets". poets.org.
  5. ^ "Project MUSE - Login". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Academy of American Poets Announces Recipients of 2023 American Poetry Prizes". Academy of American Poets. September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Rothman, Lily (March 12, 2014). "Meet the Former Factory Worker Who Just Won a $100,000 Poetry Prize". Time. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  8. ^ "Fulbright Scholar Program > 2001 - 2002 U.S. Scholar Directory". Archived from the original on May 2, 2010.

Sources