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.

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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