Clarence Major facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clarence Major
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Major in 2017
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| Born | December 31, 1936 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
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| Occupation | Poet, painter, and novelist |
| Spouse(s) |
Pamela Ritter Major
(m. 1980) |
| Children | 6 |
| Awards | PEN Oakland/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016 |
Clarence Major (born December 31, 1936) is an American artist who is known for his work as a poet, painter, and novelist. He has won several important awards, including the "Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts" in 2015 from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He also received the PEN Oakland/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
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About Clarence Major
Clarence Major was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 31, 1936. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. From a young age, he loved art and writing. As a teenager, he started drawing, painting, writing poems, and creating stories.
When he was in his early twenties, he began his own literary magazine called Coercion Review. This magazine featured works by famous writers like Henry Miller. A big influence on him as a teenager was a Van Gogh art show he saw in Chicago in 1950.
After serving in the Air Force, Major moved to New York City in 1966. His first novel, All Night Visitors, came out in 1969. His first collection of poems, Swallow the Lake, was published the next year. He also worked for a short time analyzing news about events in the 1960s. He even did some research in cities like Detroit and Milwaukee.
In 1967, he started teaching. He taught at the New Lincoln School in Harlem. Later, he taught American literature and creative writing at many universities. His first art show, where only his paintings were displayed, was at Sarah Lawrence College in the early 1970s. He also taught at Girard College in Philadelphia.
Major often gave public readings of his poetry. He worked on the editing teams for several literary magazines. He also wrote a regular column for The American Poetry Review. He was the first editor of American Book Review. He read his poems at famous places like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Folger Theatre.
In 1975, he traveled to Struga, Yugoslavia, for an International Poetry Festival. He read his work alongside poets from all over the world. In 1977, he read at Poetry International in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After moving to California in 1989, he started showing his paintings more often in art galleries.
Major has also helped judge important literary awards. In 1991, he was a fiction judge for the National Book Awards. He also judged awards for the National Endowment for the Arts and the PEN/Faulkner Award. He has judged many state-sponsored writing contests too.
Today, Major is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California at Davis. This means he is a retired professor who is still highly respected. His writings and artworks are kept in special collections at the University of Minnesota.
Teaching Career
Clarence Major has taught literature and creative writing at many universities. He taught at places like Brooklyn College, New York University, Queens College, and Howard University. He also taught at the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado.
From 1981 to 1983, he taught American culture in France at the University of Nice. This was part of a special exchange program called Fulbright-Hays. He taught at the University of California, Davis, for 18 years before he retired in 2007.
Awards and Recognition
Major has received many awards for his writing and art. In 1970, he won a National Council on the Arts Award for his poetry book Swallow the Lake. The next year, he received a grant for his poetry.
His French translation of Reflex and Bone Structure was nominated for a special award in 1982. His novel Such Was The Season was chosen by a book club in 1988. The New York Times Book Review also recommended it. Another book, Painted Turtle: Woman With Guitar, was named a "Notable Book of The Year" in 1988.
In 1990, his short story collection Fun & Games was nominated for the Los Angeles Book Critics Award. He won a Bronze Medal for the National Book Award in 1999 for his poetry collection Configurations. He also won the Pushcart Prize for a short story called "My Mother and Mitch" in 1989.
In 2002, he received the Stephen Henderson Poetry Award for his great achievements in poetry. His 1986 novel My Amputations won the Western States Book Award. His book Dirty Bird Blues won the Sister Circle Book Award in 1999.
Major was inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame in 2001. He received the "2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts" from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. In 2016, he won the PEN Oakland/Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021, he was honored by being inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.
Books and Writings
Major has edited several collections of stories and poems. These are called anthologies. Some of his anthologies include Calling the Wind: 20th Century African-American Short Stories (1993) and The Garden Thrives: 20th Century African-American Poetry (1996).
His own work has appeared in many important anthologies. These include The Norton Anthology of American Literature and The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature. His stories and poems have also been in Best American Poetry 2019 and The Pushcart Prize: The Best of The Small Presses.
His fiction, poetry, and book reviews have been published in many magazines and newspapers. Some of these include The New Yorker, Harvard Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post Book World, and Los Angeles Times Book Review. His work has also appeared in Essence, Ploughshares, and Kenyon Review.
Visual Arts
Clarence Major also has a strong passion for visual art. He studied drawing and painting with artists like Gus Nall from 1952 to 1954. He also took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.
His early artwork was shown in a group exhibition in Chicago in the mid-1950s. Since then, his paintings have been displayed in many solo shows. These have been at galleries and universities like Sarah Lawrence College, Kresge Art Museum, and Pierre Menard Gallery.
His artwork is owned by many private collectors. It is also in public collections at places like Indiana State University and Emory University. His paintings have been part of many group shows at galleries such as John Natsoulas Gallery and Anita Shapolsky Gallery.
Many of his paintings have been used as covers for his own books, including his poetry collections Myself Painting and Waiting for Sweet Betty. His novel Emergency Exit (1979) even includes pictures of his paintings. A book about his art and writing, Clarence Major and His Art, was published in 1998.
Major also helped organize an art exhibition called Spirit Made Visible in 1992. This show featured works by famous artists like Robert Colescott and Oliver Lee Jackson, along with his own paintings.
Art Exhibitions
Here are some places where Clarence Major's art has been shown in solo exhibitions:
- Sarah Lawrence College Library, Spring 1974
- Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, 2001
- Schacknow Museum of Fine Art, Plantation, Florida, 2003
- Exploding Head Gallery, Sacramento, CA, 2003, 2004, 2006
- Hamilton Club Gallery Paterson New Jersey, 2007
- John Natsoulas Gallery, 1992, 2002, 1993
- Pierre Menard Gallery, Harvard Square, Cambridge MA, 2010
- University Gallery Indiana State University, Terre Haute, 2011
Education
Clarence Major has studied at several institutions:
- The Art Institute of Chicago (as a James Nelson Raymond scholar), 1952–1954.
- He received private art lessons from Gus Nall from 1950–1954.
- He earned his B.S. degree from State University of New York, Albany, in 1976.
- He received his Ph.D. from Union Institute and University in 1978.
