Melvin E. Brown

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Melvin Edward Brown (1950-present) is a poet, educator, editor, and lyricist. Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Brown is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and the author of two collections of poetry, In the First Place (1974) and Blue Notes and Blessing Songs (1995), both published by Liberation House Press. Brown was the longest-serving editor of Chicory, a magazine published by the Enoch Pratt Free Library from 1966 until 1983. Heavily influenced by the Black Arts Movement, which according to poet Askia Muhammad Toure, was "the largest cultural upsurge of Black folk in the 20th century," Brown was an integral figure in Baltimore's poetry scene, mentoring generations of writers.[1] Author and journalist Peter J. Harris described Brown as "the heart and soul of a hip, attractive community of sincere People of the World."[2]

Early Life

Melvin E. Brown was born in 1950 in Baltimore, MD. He grew up in the housing projects of West and East Baltimore. As a young man, he developed an interest in poetry after discovering Haki R. Madhubuti's (Don L. Lee) Don't Cry, Scream in 1969, as well as being inspired by other poets published by Dudley Randall's Broadside Lotus Press.[3]

Brown attended Columbia University and received an MA from Johns Hopkins University prestigious Writing Seminar.

Career

In 1971, Brown became the editor of Chicory, a magazine of poetry, artwork and commentary founded in 1966 by poet Samuel James Cornish, and published by the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Funded through the federal War on Poverty, the magazine was inspired by the merging of art and activism in the Black Arts Movement.[4] In 1969, the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper called Chicory, "the most authentic microphone of Black folks talking ever devised."[5] As editor, Brown worked closely with community members, even leading writing workshops in housing projects in Baltimore to give young people an opportunity to express themselves.[6] In 1976, Brown organized a program to mark Chicory’s ten year anniversary, which featured Cornish and guest speaker Toni Cade Bambara, along with readings by poets whose work appeared in the magazine.[7] Brown resigned as editor in 1981, and in 1983, Chicory was discontinued.[4]

In 1974, Liberation House Press, founded by Baltimore civil rights activist Walter Lively, published Brown’s first book of poetry, In the First Place. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks called it, "lively and resonant."[8] Author Peter J. Harris stated: "In the First Place, with its quiet tones, tough Blackpolitic and caring for common folk, was important enough to make him a critical contact for me, as I struggled to figure out how to like Baltimore, after growing up with a D.C. sneer on my face about this river port town thirty-some miles to the north."[2]

In the mid-1970s, while working with Walter Lively at a cultural center in East Baltimore, Brown founded The Pamoja Writers Collective, which organized readings, competitions, lectures and conducted community writing workshops.[9] At that time he was also influenced by and was briefly a member of the Congress of Afrikan People (CAP), a Pan-African cultural nationalist organization.

In 1979, he became the poetry editor for Dawn magazine, which was nationally distributed through the Afro-American newspaper.[10] In the early 1980s he was assistant editor of the literary journal, Blind Alleys, founded by poet Afaa M. Weaver|Afaa Michael Weaver.[3]

Brown has been a teacher in the Baltimore City Public Schools, and he has been a professor of African American Literature at Towson University. Brown was also a faculty member of the now defunct Sojourner Douglass College, an innovative community-based HBCU. In addition, he has been employed as a hotel worker and union representative.

In 1995, Brown published his second book of poetry, Blue Notes and Blessing Songs. Former Maryland Poet Laureate Lucille Clifton noted, "Melvin follows the tradition; griot, storyteller, musicman. His poems are straight, clear thinking. In the words of Etheridge knight, he too sees through stone."[11]

In 2018, Brown was a founding member of the Chicory Revitalization Project, a civic engagement project that has digitized Chicory magazine and uses it to catalyze conversations between generations in Baltimore about social justice.[12] Brown advised on the traveling exhibit Soul of the Butterfly: Chicory Magazine and Baltimore’s Black Arts Activism, which opened in June 2022 and will travel through Baltimore until at least August 2023. The exhibit features poetry, artwork and photographs from Chicory Magazine, and tells the story of Black artists activism in Baltimore since the 1960s, including Brown.

More recently, Brown has participated in workshops, competitions and readings conducted by arts organizations DewMore Baltimore and Writers in Baltimore Schools. He appeared on Maryland Poet Laureate Grace Cavalieri’s podcast The Poet and the Poem and continues to publish poetry.[13]

Published works

Poetry Collections

In the First Place. Liberation House Press. 1974.

Blue Notes and Blessing Songs. Liberation House Press. 1995.

Anthologies

  • Bambara, Toni Cade. Southern Exposure: Southern Black Utterances Today. Vol. 3, No.1. The Institute for Southern Studies, 1975.
  • Beaudoin, David, et. al. Gathering Voices: An Anthology of Baltimore Poets. Dolphin-Moon/7th Son/Tropos,1986.
  • Ciesielski, Stephen. Ed. Baltimore Renaissance: Poetry. NPS. Baltimore, Md., 1980.
  • Harris, Peter J. Ed. The Drumming Between Us: Black Love and Erotic Poetry. Vol.1, No.1. Redondo Beach, Ca.,1994.
  • Jordan, June, et. al. Hoo-Doo 7. Energy Earth Communications, 1980.
  • Miller, E. Ethelbert. Ed. In Search of Color Everywhere: A Collection of African-American Poetry. Stewart, Tabor & Chang. 1994.

Other Published Poetry

References

  1. ↑ Amiri Baraka and Askia Toure - The Black Arts Movement - Furious Flower 1994, retrieved 2023-01-09
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harris, Peter J. (1994). "Ain't Too Proud to Beg". In Woods, Paula L. (ed.). I hear a symphony : African Americans celebrate love (1st Anchor Books ed.). New York: Anchor Books. p. 123. ISBN 0-385-47502-0. OCLC 29909384.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Malech, Dora (2020). "Interview with Melvin E. Brown and Afaa Michael Weaver". Hopkins Review. 13 (1): 25–56 – via Project Muse.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rizzo, Mary (2020). Come and be shocked : Baltimore beyond John Waters and The Wire. Baltimore, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-4214-3791-0. OCLC 1111783811.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ↑ "Black Stands for Me". Afro-American. December 6, 1969.
  6. ↑ "Writers Live! Mary Rizzo and Melvin E. Brown in Conversation". Enoch Pratt Free Library. September 22, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Schoettler, Carl (November 18, 1976). "10th Anniversary Party To Mark The Flavor Of Chicory". Evening Sun.
  8. ↑ Brooks, Gwendolyn (1976). "Review of In the First Place". Black Books Bulletin. 3 (2).
  9. ↑ Goncalves, Joe (1975). "Melvin E. Brown". Kitabu Cha Jua. 1 (19): 68.
  10. ↑ "The Editor's Desk". Afro-American. May 19, 1979. pp. A2.
  11. ↑ Brown, Melvin E. (1995). Blue notes & blessing songs. Baltimore, Md.: Liberation House. ISBN 1-56167-152-5. OCLC 35055686.
  12. ↑ Britto, Brittany (March 10, 2017). "Project gives new life to Chicory, a forgotten Baltimore literary magazine". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ The Poet and the Poem Grace Cavalieri Featuring Melvin E Brown, retrieved 2023-01-09

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