Background
Adoff grew up in the South Bronx, the son of jewish immigrants from a town near the Polish-Russian border.
Adoff grew up in the South Bronx, the son of jewish immigrants from a town near the Polish-Russian border.
Columbia University; City College of New New York
In 1988, the National Council of Teachers of English gave Adoff the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. He has said, "I will always try to turn sights and sounds into words. I will always try to shape words into my singing poems." He enrolled in the Columbia University School of Pharmacy but transferred to City College of New York, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in history and literature.
Adoff taught social studies in Harlem and the Upper West Side of New New York
Adoff and Hamilton eventually moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where Adoff still lives. "I began writing for kids because I wanted to effect a change in American society.
I continue in that spirit. By the time we reach adulthood, we are closed and set in our attitudes.
The chances of a poet reaching us are very slim.
But I can open a child"s imagination, develop his appetite for poetry, and more importantly, show him that poetry is a natural part of everyday life. We all need someone to point out that the emperor is wearing no clothes. That"s the poet"s job." --Arnold Adoff Black on Black.
Commentaries by Negro Americans.
New York: Macmillan, 1968. New York: Macmillan, 1970.
Malcolm X. - illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez. pennsylvania HarperCollins, 2000 (ages 7–10).
Roots and Blues: A Celebration - illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
New York: Houghton Mifflin.