American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 29 (2008) Winner
Lorenzo Thomas
ロレンツォ・トーマス
Lorenzo Thomas
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1944-08-31 （Panama）
- Died
- 2005-07-04 （Texas Medical Center Hospice, Houston） age 60
- Nationality
- Panama, United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New York City → Houston, Texas
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Critic, Professor, Writer
- Active Years
- 1973-2005
- Affiliations
- Texas Southern University (writer-in-residence), Florida A & M University (writer-in-residence), University of Houston–Downtown (professor)
- Influenced By
- Influenced by the Umbra Workshop and the Black Arts Movement, Contemporary Black poets (e.g., Ishmael Reed, Amiri Baraka)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens College, City University of New York | English Literature | English Literature | B.A. | — | United States |
| Pratt Institute | — | Library Science (graduate work) | — | — | United States |
Queens College, City University of New York
English Literature
/ English Literature
Degree:
B.A.
Country:
United States
B.A. in English Literature with minors in History and Communication Arts (Radio and Television).
Pratt Institute
Library Science (graduate work)
Country:
United States
Pursued graduate work toward an M.L.S.; completion status uncertain.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Dwight L. Durling Prize in Poetry | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1963 | John Golden Award for Creative Writing | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1966 | Poets Foundation Award | — | — | Poets Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1974 | Poets Foundation Award | — | — | Poets Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1974 | Lucille Medwick Award | — | — | Poetry organization (unspecified) | 受賞 |
| 1973 | Committee on Poetry grant | — | — | Committee on Poetry | 受賞 |
| 2000 | Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists | — | — | Foundation for Contemporary Arts | 受賞 |
Dwight L. Durling Prize in Poetry
1963
Result:
受賞
John Golden Award for Creative Writing
1963
Result:
受賞
Poets Foundation Award
1966
Organization:
Poets Foundation
Result:
受賞
Poets Foundation Award
1974
Organization:
Poets Foundation
Result:
受賞
Lucille Medwick Award
1974
Organization:
Poetry organization (unspecified)
Result:
受賞
Committee on Poetry grant
1973
Organization:
Committee on Poetry
Result:
受賞
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists
2000
Organization:
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Fit Music
1972 PoetryEarly collection of poems featuring colloquial rhythms and fragments of urban life.
MusicalityUrban lifeIdentity
Dracula
1973 Poetry / ChapbookA chapbook published by Angel Hair in a limited edition of 300 copies.
Experimental poetryLinguistic play
Chances Are Few (2nd ed.)
1980 PoetryExpanded second edition collecting new poems and an introduction by the author.
HistoryPersonal memory
The Bathers
1981 PoetryCollection from the early 1980s focusing on urbanity and corporeality.
BodyCity
I Cudda Had A V-8: Poetry and The Vernacular
1988 Lecture / EssayA lecture discussing the relationship between vernacular expression in poetry and popular culture.
VernacularTradition and modernity
Extraordinary Measures: Afrocentric Modernism and Twentieth-Century American Poetry
2000 Literary criticismA study of Afrocentric Modernism in twentieth-century American poetry, surveying figures such as Amiri Baraka.
Afrocentric modernismPoetic history
Dancing on Main Street: Poems
2004 PoetryLate-career collection weaving everyday scenes with voices from Black communities.
Everyday lifeCommunity
Time Step: 5 Poems, 4 Seasons
2004 PoetryA short sequence of poems using seasons and time as motifs.
SeasonsTime
Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition
2008 Literary criticism / EssaysEssays on words, music, and the Black intellectual tradition (co-authored with Aldon Lynn Nielsen; includes posthumous material).
Music and poetryBlack intellectual tradition
Bibliography
- Fit Music (1972)
- Dracula (1973)
- Jambalaya: Four Poets (1975)
- Chances Are Few (2nd ed., 2003)
- The Bathers (1981)
- I Cudda Had A V-8: Poetry and The Vernacular (lecture, 1988)
- Extraordinary Measures (2000)
- Dancing on Main Street: Poems (2004)
- Time Step: 5 Poems, 4 Seasons (2004)
- Don't Deny My Name (co-authored, 2008)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Colloquial, rhythmic poetic styleCritically engaged prose with Afrocentric perspectives
- Recurring Motifs
- MusicFragments of everyday lifeAfrican-American traditions and historyUrban settings
Health
-
Emphysema晩年Condition worsened in later years, leading to hospice care and eventual death.
Legacy
Lorenzo Thomas was a poet and critic associated with the Umbra Workshop who contributed to both creative and critical study of African-American poetry. He taught for decades, mentoring students, and left important critical work on the intersection of poetry and music.
Archives
- University of Houston–Downtown Archives
Trivia
- His mother's sister, Sadie Clemencia Dolphy, was the mother of musician Eric Dolphy, indicating a family connection.
- Served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, including service in Vietnam.
- Moved to Houston in 1973 and served as writer-in-residence at Texas Southern University before teaching at the University of Houston–Downtown for more than two decades.
- In addition to poetry, he made significant contributions to African-American literary criticism.