Lisa Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lisa Jones
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| Born | August 15, 1961 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University (B.A.) New York University (M.F.A.) |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouse(s) | Kenneth S. Brown |
| Parent(s) | Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka |
Lisa Victoria Chapman Jones was born on August 15, 1961. She is an American writer who creates plays, essays, and articles for newspapers. She also writes memoirs, which are books about her own life.
Contents
About Lisa Jones
Her Early Life and School
Lisa Jones grew up in two big cities: New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Her parents, Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka, were both famous poets. Amiri Baraka was also known as LeRoi Jones.
Lisa went to Yale University for her first degree. Later, she earned a special degree called an MFA in Film from New York University. An MFA stands for Master of Fine Arts, and it means she studied filmmaking at a very high level.
In 2004, Lisa Jones married Kenneth S. Brown. They had a daughter in 2005. Lisa Jones is also Jewish.
Her Family
Lisa has a sister named Kellie Jones. Kellie is a professor at Columbia University, where she teaches about art history. Lisa also has a half-brother, Ras Baraka, who is the mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Her half-sister, Dominique di Prima, is also a writer and radio host.
Lisa Jones's Career
Writing for Newspapers
Lisa Jones started working at a newspaper called the Village Voice in 1984. She wrote for this paper for 15 years. She was well-known for her columns called "Skin Trade." A collection of these columns was later published as a book titled Bulletproof Diva in 1994.
Books She Has Written
In 1999, Lisa Jones published a memoir called Good Girl in a Bad Dress. This book tells stories from her own life.
She also worked with the famous filmmaker Spike Lee on three books. These books were companions to his movies:
- Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Daze (1988)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Lisa Jones's essays have been included in many different collections of writings. One of these collections is Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair.
Plays and Radio Works
Lisa Jones wrote two plays, Carmella & King Kong and Combination Skin. She wrote these plays while she was part of a group called Rodeo Caldonia. This group was made up of African-American women artists who focused on feminist ideas.
Her play Combination Skin was first performed in Hartford, CT, in 1992. A review in The New York Times newspaper said she was a "fresh talent" and praised her "all-consuming vision." Combination Skin was also included in a book called Contemporary Plays by Women of Color.
Lisa Jones also created three works for a radio series called New American Radio, which was part of National Public Radio:
- Aunt Aida's Hand (1989)
- Stained (1991)
- Ethnic Cleansing (1993)
Aunt Aida's Hand and Stained were created with Alva Rogers, who was also a member of Rodeo Caldonia. In 1995, Lisa Jones and Alva Rogers won a special award called a Bessie Award for their teamwork.
