Background

Devorah Major was born on April 9, 1952, in Berkeley, California, United States. She is a daughter of Reginald Allman Major and Helen Gabriel Major.

Education

Devorah Major studied at San Francisco State University, graduating in 1976.

Career

For over twenty years, Devorah, together with Opal Palmer Adisa, has been a part of Daughters of Yam, a poetry performance group, which released one book, two chapbooks, one poetry book, one jazz cassette, as well as one poetry CD and jazz CD.

In 2004, she was given a commission by the Oakland East Bay Symphony to collaborate with composer Guillermo Galindo to create and perform in Trade Route, a symphony with spoken word and chorus, that premiered in 2005. In 2015, Major's full-length poetry play "Classic Black: African Americans in 19th Century San Francisco" premiered at the San Francisco International Arts Festival.

During her lifetime, Major held a post of a teacher at different educational establishments, including New College, San Jose State University, San Francisco State College, Stanford University and others. She also taught poetry performance workshops at Laney College, held workshops and individual writing coaching sessions for novice and experienced poetry and prose writers.

Moreover, Devorah held a post of an executive director of California Poets in the Schools organization, as well as a position of a Literary Program Director for Koncepts Cultural Gallery, editing their community arts magazine "Konceptualizations".

Currently, she serves as a part-time senior adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts.

Achievements

• Devorah Major is known as an award winning poet and fiction writer. In 1996, her first novel, "An Open Weave", was awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.
  
  In 1997, she received Josephine Mills Award for Literary Excellence from PEN Oakland for her book "Street Smarts". Moreover, in 2002, she was named San Francisco’s third Poet Laureate.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Brown Glass Windows

    ("Brown Glass Windows" is the story of the Evermans, an Af...)

    2002
  • The Other Side of the Postcard

    (In conjunction with the San Francisco Public Library, poe...)

    2005
  • Where River Meets Ocean

    (This collection of poetry begins with the poet’s inaugura...)

    2003
  • Street Smarts

    (In this work, Devorah Major explores the hardships of lif...)

    1996
  • Traveling Women 1989
  • An Open Weave 1995
  • With More Than Tongue 2002
  • And then we became 2016

Connections

Major has two children — Yroko and Iwa.

Father:

Reginald Allman Major

Mother:

Helen Gabriel Major

child:

Yroko Major

child:

Iwa Major