Bill Harris
Bill Harris
Bill Harris
(It is composed of three series of poems, "impressions," i...)
It is composed of three series of poems, "impressions," in the author's word, inspired by, respectively, the photographs of Roy DeCarava, the collages of Romare Bearden, and the music of Duke Ellington.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962247472/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(In Birth of a Notion, poet and playwright Bill Harris con...)
In Birth of a Notion, poet and playwright Bill Harris confronts contemporary stereotypes and prejudices by looking back to their roots in early American history.
https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Notion-Half-Aint-Never/dp/0814334083/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(In the twenty-five linked short stories in his collection...)
In the twenty-five linked short stories in his collection, I Got to Keep Moving, celebrated Detroit author Bill Harris vividly and deftly describes the inner and outer lives of a wide cast of characters as they navigate changing circumstances in the southern United States, pre- and post-Civil War.
https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Moving-Made-Michigan-Writers/dp/081434593X/?tag=2022091-20
2018
Bill Harris has followed a career path that reflects his interest in writing. He worked as an arts administrator for several urban agencies including a New York City theater and taught the craft of writing at educational institutions such as Wayne State University in Detroit. Currently, he is a Wayne State University emeritus professor of English and an imaginative investigator of jazz, blues, culture, Detroit and the bridges in between.
He has published three books with Wayne State University Press: I Got To Keep Moving (2018), Booker T. & Them: A Blues (2012) and Birth of a Notion; Or, The Half Ain't Never Been Told (2010). His plays have had more than 100 productions nationwide. Stories About the Old Days, which starred the late jazz singer Abbey Lincoln, and Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone, with Denzel Washington and S. Epatha Merkerson as its leads, premiered, along with several others, at the New Federal Theatre in New York. Queen of Sheba, and BOO! A Musical Fantasy had their debuts at the St. Louis Black Repertory Company.
Harris has also had two books of poetry published: The Ringmaster’s Array, poems honoring visual and musical artists, and Yardbird Suite: Side One, a collection about the life of jazz musician Charlie Parker.
(In the twenty-five linked short stories in his collection...)
2018(It is composed of three series of poems, "impressions," i...)
1997(In Birth of a Notion, poet and playwright Bill Harris con...)
2010(It is a marvelous interpretation of instrumental music th...)
1998Harris’s works for the stage feature mainly African American characters and the issues that these characters face in their lives. An early play, No Use Cryin’, focuses on a black family’s efforts to deal with a situation that threatens to break them apart. Warn the Wicked features a family coping with the murder of a militant family member and struggling with clashing beliefs within their own family unit. What Goes Around and Smoke explore the issues that African American couples face. In What Goes Around, a man and woman try to deal with the psychological issues that threaten their relationship.
Quotes from others about the person
"Bill Harris' life story, his artistic work, and his ongoing community involvement have revolved around and deeply enriched the region.Through his writings, he has touched us and the nation at large," —Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation