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 in 1962) is an American writer, poet, and thinker. He studies important ideas about culture, Black history, and how people express themselves. Moten is a professor at New York University. He was also a professor at the University of California, Riverside.
He has written many books of essays and poetry. Some of his well-known works include The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study (written with Stefano Harney) and In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition. In 2020, Moten received 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
About Fred Moten
Early Life and Education
Fred Moten was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1962. He grew up in a Black neighborhood there. His parents were part of the Great Migration. This was a time when many Black families moved from the southern U.S. to find new opportunities. His parents came from Louisiana and Arkansas.
His father worked at the Las Vegas Convention Center and later for Pan American Airlines. His mother was a grade school teacher.
In 1980, Moten started studying at Harvard University. He first wanted to study economics. However, he became more interested in social issues and political ideas. After his first year, he took a year off from school. During this time, he worked as a janitor and wrote poetry. He also discovered many important writers.
When he returned to Harvard, he found more inspiration for his own writing. He also met Stefano Harney, who would become his writing partner. After graduating from Harvard, Moten earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
His Work and Ideas
Fred Moten has made big contributions to understanding Black history, poetry, and modern American writing. Magazines like Harvard Magazine and The New Yorker have written about his life and work.
He has received several important awards for his writing. In 2016, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship. He also received the Stephen E. Henderson Award for his poetry. 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. In 2018, he received the Roy Lichtenstein Award.
Moten has been part of the editorial teams for several important journals. These include American Quarterly and Callaloo. Since 2018, he has been a professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. There, he teaches courses on Black studies, poetry, music, and critical race theory.
The Undercommons
One of his most famous works is a series of essays called The Undercommons. He wrote these essays with Stefano Harney. In these writings, Moten talks about how he sees problems with universities. He suggests that we should think about being connected to each other, rather than focusing on individual success.
Thoughts on Culture
Fred Moten has shared his thoughts on Black culture. He remembers growing up around people who were unique and creative. He believes that being "weird" or different is a key part of Black culture. He mentions musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson II and George Clinton as examples of this creative spirit.
Published Works
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 Collections
- 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 Jim Behrle; 2002)
- Arkansas (2000)
Images for kids
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Fred Moten in 2016
