Naomi Long Madgett facts for kids

Naomi Long Madgett (born July 5, 1923 – died November 5, 2020) was an important American poet and publisher. She started her career as a teacher. Later, she became famous for her amazing poems that won many awards.

Naomi Long Madgett also started Lotus Press in 1972. This company published poetry books by Black poets. People called her "the godmother of African-American poetry." She was also named the official poet laureate of Detroit in 2001.

Naomi Long Madgett's Life and Work

Naomi Cornelia Long was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in July 1923. She was the youngest of three children. Her father, Clarence Marcellus Long, was a Baptist minister.

When Naomi was very young, her family moved to East Orange, New Jersey. Her father became a pastor there. Naomi started writing poems when she was little. Her first poem was published in a newspaper when she was just 13 years old.

Early Schooling and Writing

In New Jersey, Naomi went to a school where students of different backgrounds learned together. She faced challenges as an African American student. After graduating from Ashland Grammar School, she attended East Orange High School.

In 1937, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Her father served as a pastor there for four years. Naomi went to Sumner High School. She was a great student and graduated with honors. At Sumner High, she was encouraged to write. She read many different books, from Aesop's Fables to poems by famous English writers like John Keats.

Just a few days after finishing high school, at age 17, she published her first small book of poems. It was called Songs to a Phantom Nightingale (1941).

College and Early Career

Naomi went to Virginia State College, which is now Virginia State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1945. In 1946, she began studying at New York University.

That same year, she moved to Detroit, Michigan. She married Julian Fields Witherspoon, whom she had met in high school. For a while, Madgett worked as a writer for the Michigan Chronicle newspaper. She published many poems there using the name Naomi L. Witherspoon.

In 1947, she had a daughter named Jill Annette Witherspoon. Her marriage ended in 1948.

Becoming a Published Poet

In 1949, one of Madgett's poems, "Refugee," appeared in a book called The Poetry of the Negro. This book was put together by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes had been a mentor to Madgett since she was 15. She had met him at a poetry reading in St. Louis.

In 1955, she earned her master's degree from Wayne State University. Her poem "Midway," from her 1956 book One and the Many, became very popular. It showed the struggles and successes of Black people during a time of much racism in the United States. Her poems appeared in many different magazines and books.

Teaching and Founding Lotus Press

Naomi Long Madgett became a teacher. For 12 years, she taught the first Black literature course in the Detroit public school system. Most of this time was spent at Northwestern High School. Her third poetry book, Star by Star, came out in 1965 and was also well-received.

In 1968, she started teaching creative writing and Black literature at Eastern Michigan University. She became an associate professor of English there. She later earned her Ph.D. and became a full professor. She retired in 1984 at age 60.

In 1972, Madgett had trouble finding a publisher for her fourth book. So, she decided to publish it herself. She started her own company called Lotus Press. She realized that there was a need for publishers who would support African-American writers.

Lotus Press published many talented Black writers. For many years, Madgett ran the company mostly by herself from her basement. In 2015, Lotus Press joined with another publisher, Broadside Press, to become Broadside Lotus Press.

Later Achievements and Legacy

Some of Madgett's poems, like "Midway," were turned into songs and performed publicly. Besides her own poetry, she also edited a book called Adam of Ife: Black Women in Praise of Black Men (1992). She also wrote a textbook to help people learn creative writing.

In 1993, the national Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award was created. This award is given every year to recognize and publish an outstanding book by an African-American poet.

Madgett received many honors. These included the American Book Award in 1993 and the George Kent Award in 1995. In 2001, the mayor of Detroit, Dennis Archer, named her the city's poet laureate.

Her autobiography, Pilgrim Journey, was published in 2006. In 2011, a documentary film about her life was made. It was called StarbyStar: Naomi Long Madgett, Poet & Publisher.

In 2012, Kresge Arts in Detroit gave her the Kresge Eminent Artist Award. This award recognized her many years of dedication to creating, sharing, and preserving poetry by African Americans. It also honored her work in promoting the study of African-American literature in schools.

Naomi Long Madgett's last poetry book, You Are My Joy and Pain: Love Poems, was published in Fall 2020. She passed away on November 5, 2020, at her home in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She was 97 years old.

Awards and Recognition

• Octavia and Other Poems (1988) won the national co-winner of the College Language Association Creative Achievement Award.
• The Long Poetry Foundation created the first annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award. This award celebrates excellent poetry manuscripts by African-American poets.