Fred Moten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fred Moten
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Moten in 2016
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| Born | August 18, 1962 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MA, PhD) |
| Occupation | Professor, poet, scholar, cultural theorist |
| Employer | New York University |
| Known for | Poetry and essays on African-American culture, Black thought |
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Notable work
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The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study, 2013, (coauthored with Stefano Harney); In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition, 2003; The Little Edges, 2014; The Feel Trio, 2014; B Jenkins, 2010; Hughson’s Tavern, 2008, Stolen Life, 2018, Black and Blur, 2018, The Universal Machine, 2018) |
Fred Moten (born 1962) is an American writer, poet, and professor. He studies and writes about critical theory, black studies, and how people perform and express themselves.
Moten is a professor at New York University. He used to teach at other universities like Duke University. In 2020, he won a special award called the MacArthur Fellowship. This award recognized his work in creating new ways to understand Black art, culture, and social life.
Contents
Fred Moten's Life Story
Fred Moten was born in Las Vegas in 1962. He grew up in a Black neighborhood that was separated from other parts of the city. His family was Catholic.
His parents were part of the Great Migration. This was a time when many Black families moved from the southern US to the north and west. They were looking for new chances and better lives. His parents came from Louisiana and Arkansas. His father worked at the Las Vegas Convention Center. His mother was a school teacher.
College Years and Discoveries
In 1980, Moten started studying at Harvard University. He first wanted to study economics. But he became more interested in social issues and politics. He also got involved in helping his community.
After his first year, he took a year off. During this time, he worked as a janitor. He also wrote poetry and read many books. He discovered writers like T. S. Eliot and Joseph Conrad. When he went back to Harvard, he found more inspiration for his own writing. He also met Stefano Harney, who would become his writing partner. After Harvard, Moten earned his PhD at University of California, Berkeley.
Fred Moten's Important Work
Fred Moten has made big contributions to many areas of study. These include Black studies, poetry, and how we think about race. Magazines like Harvard Magazine and The New Yorker have written about his life and work.
In 2016, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. This is a special award for people who have done great creative work. His book of poems, The Feel Trio (2014), won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It was also a finalist for the National Book Award.
Ideas and Teaching
Moten has been on the boards of many important journals and groups. These include American Quarterly and Social Text. Since 2018, he has been a professor at New York University. He teaches classes on Black studies, poetry, music, and critical race theory.
One of his most famous works is a book of essays called The Undercommons. He wrote it with Stefano Harney. In these essays, he talks about how universities sometimes focus too much on making students into professionals. He also questions how money and debt work in society. He suggests that we should "stay in debt to one another." This means we should always feel connected and responsible to each other. It's a way to understand our place in the world and with other people.
Fred Moten's Thoughts
Fred Moten often shares his unique ideas. He once talked about growing up around people who were "weird." He said that being different didn't make their Blackness any less. And their Blackness didn't make their weirdness any less.
He believes that being unique is a key part of Black culture. He mentioned musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson and George Clinton. He said, "Anybody that we care about, that we still pay attention to, they were weird."
Fred Moten's Books
Academic Books
- With Stefano Harney: All Incomplete (2021)
- The Universal Machine (2018)
- Stolen Life (2018)
- Black and Blur (2017)
- With Stefano Harney: A Poetics of the Undercommons (2016)
- Who touched me? (with Wu Tsang; 2016)
- With Stefano Harney: The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning and Black Study (2013)
- In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition (2003)
Poetry Books
- perennial fashion presence falling (2023)
- All That Beauty (2019)
- The Service Porch (2016)
- The Little Edges (2015)
- The Feel Trio (2014)
- B. Jenkins (2010)
- Hughson's Tavern (2009)
- I ran from it but was still in it (2007)
- Poems (with Behrle, Jim; 2002)
- Arkansas (2000)
