World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Jabari Asim

ジャバリ・アシム

Jabari Asim

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1962-08-11 （St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
St. Louis, Missouri (birth and early life) → Boston, Massachusetts (residence; Emerson College)

Career

Occupations
Professor, Editor, Author, Poet, Playwright
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
Emerson College, NAACP / The Crisis (editor), The Washington Post, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (scholar-in-residence)
Memberships
National Book Critics Circle (former vice president)
Influenced
Younger writers and scholars (influence through teaching and criticism)
Nominations
NAACP Image Award nominee (Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction) for A Taste of Honey, Hurston/Wright LEGACY Award shortlist for The N Word

Education

Northwestern University
Country: United States
Detailed enrollment/graduation information not available

Awards

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2009
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Carter G. Woodson Book Award
2013
Work: Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington
Organization: National Council for the Social Studies
Result: 受賞
Black Caucus of the American Library Association - Honor Book
2022
Work: Yonder
Organization: Black Caucus of the American Library Association
Result: 指定（Honor Book）
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book
2016
Work: Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis
Organization: The New York Times
Result: 選出
PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award (Finalist)
2018
Work: We Can't Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival
Organization: PEN America
Result: ファイナリスト
Hurston/Wright LEGACY Award (Shortlist)
2008
Work: The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why
Organization: Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result: ショートリスト（ノミネート）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why

2007 Nonfiction (cultural criticism)

An examination of the history, cultural context, and ethics surrounding the 'N-word'.

RaceLanguage and powerCultural memory

What Obama Means: ...For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future

2009 Nonfiction (politics & culture)

A collection of essays on the cultural and political significance of Barack Obama's rise.

PoliticsCultureLeadership

A Taste of Honey: Stories

2009 Fiction (short story collection)

A linked collection of 16 stories set in a fictional Midwestern town in 1968, told from multiple perspectives.

CommunityRace relationsMemory and history

Only the Strong

2015 Fiction (novel)

A novel exploring family and community dynamics.

FamilyResiliencePersonal strength

Yonder

2022 Fiction (historical fantasy)

A novel blending the escape of enslaved people with magical elements, addressing liberation and memory. Named a New York Times Notable Book.

SlaveryFreedomHistory and memory
Translations
  • Em Algum Lugar La For_a (Portuguese translation)

Stop and Frisk: American Poems

2020 Poetry

A collection of poems addressing violence, racism, and everyday experience in America.

Police violenceRacismCivic life

Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington

2012 Children's (biographical)

A children's picture-book biography of Booker T. Washington's early life.

BiographyPerseverance and hopeHistorical education

Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis

2016 Children's (biographical)

A children's picture book about the young John Lewis. Named a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book in 2016.

Civil rightsLeadershipFormative childhood

Bibliography

  • Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on the Law, Justice and Life (editor, HarperCollins, 2001)
  • The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007)
  • What Obama Means: ...For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future (William Morrow, 2009)
  • A Taste of Honey: Stories (Broadway Books, 2009)
  • Only the Strong (Agate Bolden, 2015)
  • We Can't Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival (Picador, 2018)
  • Stop and Frisk: American Poems (Bloomsday, 2020)
  • Yonder (Simon & Schuster, 2022)
  • Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012)
  • Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2016)

Translations of Works

  • Em Algum Lugar La For_a (Portuguese translation by Rogerio W. Galindo, 2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Essayistic and dialogic style rooted in African American literary traditionsClear critical engagement with social realitiesNarration that incorporates poetic imagery
Recurring Motifs
Race and injusticeFamily and communityTransmission of history and memory

Legacy

Jabari Asim has made broad contributions as an author, critic, editor, and educator across American and children's literature. He is known for works spanning social-justice nonfiction, historically imaginative fiction, and award-winning children's books.

Academic Societies

  • National Book Critics Circle (involvement)

In Popular Culture

  • Television appearances on The Colbert Report, Tavis Smiley, Greater Boston
  • Named a New York Times Notable Book (Yonder)

Quotes

  • “Mr. Asim is a seasoned editor, a fine writer and author of a new best selling book. He is a gentleman devoted to the cause of racial justice, is excited about his new role with the NAACP and we are energized by his joining our ranks.”
    Source: NAACP press release (welcome comment by Roger Wilkins) (2007)

Trivia

  • While at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was for a time the only African American supervising book/publishing coverage at a major metropolitan daily.
  • His son is writer G'Ra Asim, who is an assistant professor of Creative Writing at Washington University in St. Louis.