Ishmael Reed

Ishmael Reed
Reading at the 2015 National Book Festival
Born	Ishmael Scott Reed (1938-02-22) February 22, 1938 (age 79) Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Occupation	Poet, essayist, novelist
Education	University of Buffalo
Spouse	Carla Blank
Website
ishmaelreed.org

External video

You can view a C-SPAN interview, in which Ishmael Reed discusses his life, work and career, right here.

Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, playwright, editor and publisher, who is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.

Reed's work has often sought to represent neglected African and African-American perspectives; his energy and advocacy have centered more broadly on neglected peoples and perspectives, irrespective of their cultural origins.

Reed was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1938. His family moved when he was a child to the industrial city of Buffalo, New York, during the Great Migration. After attending local schools, Reed attended the University at Buffalo, a private university that became part of the state public university system after he left. Reed withdrew from university in his junior year, partly due to financial issues, but mainly because he felt he needed a new atmosphere to support his writing and music. He comments on this decision:

"This was the best thing that could have happened to me at the time because I was able to continue experimenting along the lines I wanted, influenced by [Nathanael] West and others. I didn't want to be a slave to somebody else's reading lists. I kind of regret the decision now because I've gotten some of the most racist and horrible things said to me because of this."

In 1995, the college awarded him an honorary doctorate degree.

In 1998, Reed spoke about his influences in an interview:

"I've probably been more influenced by poets than by novelists — the Harlem Renaissance poets, the Beat poets, the American surrealist Ted Joans. Poets have to be more attuned to originality, coming up with lines and associations the ordinary prose writer wouldn't think of."

He moved to New York City in 1962 and co-founded with Walter Bowart the East Village Other, which became a well-known underground publication. He was also a member of the Umbra Writers Workshop, some of whose members helped establish the Black Arts Movement and promoted a Black Aesthetic. Although Reed was never a participant in that movement, he has continued to research the history of black Americans. While working on his novel Flight to Canada, he coined the term "Neo-Slave narrative." He used the term in 1984 in "A Conversation with Ishmael Reed" by Reginald Martin.