Barry Earl Beckham (born March 19, 1944) is an American playwright and novelist.
Biography
Beckham was born in 1944 in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
to Clarence and Mildred (née William) Beckham. At the age of nine, he moved with his mother to a Black neighborhood in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. . He graduated from
Atlantic City High School and in 1962 he entered
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
as one of only eight Black students in the freshman year
and one of three black graduates in 1966.
He began his first novel, ''My Main Mother'' (1969), while in his senior year at Brown University. Beckham completed the novel at the age of 25 in 1969. He graduated in 1966 with a degree in English.
His second novel, ''Runner Mack'' (1972), was nominated for a
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
.
His play ''Garvey Lives!'', about Jamaican-born
Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey, was produced by
George Houston Bass
George Houston Bass (April 23, 1938 – September 18, 1990) was an American playwright, director and writer. He lived and worked in Providence, Rhode Island. He founded the Rites and Reason Theater at Brown University in September 1970. He was a ...
of the
Rites and Reason Theatre
Rites and Reason Theatre is a theater within the Africana Studies department of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1970 by Professor George Houston Bass, and Professor Rhett Jones, is one of the longest-running cont ...
, a Black theater group at Brown University.
[
Beckham returned to Brown in 1970 as a visiting lecturer in English and African American Studies. He had a 17-year career at the university, including several years as the head of the graduate creative writing program.]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckham, Barry
1944 births
20th-century American novelists
African-American novelists
American male novelists
Brown University alumni
Brown University faculty
Writers from Atlantic City, New Jersey
Writers from Philadelphia
African-American dramatists and playwrights
American dramatists and playwrights
Living people
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Pennsylvania
Novelists from New Jersey
People from Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City High School alumni
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American people
African-American male writers