June Jordan
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June Jordan (1936−2002) was a poet, activist, journalist, essayist, teacher, and the author of more than twenty-five major works of poetry, fiction, and essays, as well as numerous children’s books. Prolific and passionate, she was a contemporary of Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker; the founder of the Poetry for the People program at U.C. Berkeley; and an influential voice who lived and wrote on the frontlines of American poetry and international political vision. She earned numerous honors and awards, among them a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a National Book Award nomination, and a congressional citation for her outstanding contributions to literature, the progressive movement, and the civil rights movement.
