Yona Harvey (born 1974) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and assistant professor at

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. She won the 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She is also an author of Marvel Comics' ''

World of Wakanda ''Black Panther: World of Wakanda'' is a comic book series and a spin-off from the Marvel Comics '' Black Panther'' title. It published six issues before being canceled. The series was primarily written by Roxane Gay, with poet Yona Harvey contr ...

'', becoming one of the first two black women writing for Marvel.

Early life

Harvey received her undergraduate degree in English from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, where her classmates included writer Ta-Nehesi Coates, playwright Kemp Powers, and poet Doug Kearney. She went on to receive a graduate degree in English from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the

Career

Poetry

Harvey's work has appeared in ''

jubilat ''jubilat'' is a widely distributed, highly acclaimed American poetry and prose journal headquartered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. First published in 2000, it was founded by Rob Casper, Christian Hawkey, Michael Teig and Kelly LeF ...

, Ploughshares,

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

Callaloo Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...

,'' and ''

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

.'' Harvey published her first poetry collection, ''Hemming the Water'', with Four Way Books in 2013. She won 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award for the collection and was named a finalist for 2014

Hurston/Wright Legacy Award The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organizatio ...

in poetry. Reviewing ''Hemming the Water'' in the ''Pittsburgh City Paper'', Mike Schneider said, "At her best — such as 'Rose Lassi' — Harvey creates a feeling of something put together as well as the best machines that sew and sing, every word a necessary part of the whole humming beauty." In the ''Asterix Journal'', Lauren Russell wrote of the collection that its "shiftiness is Harvey’s particular genius. In poems that weave tenderness and violence, the expectation and the surprise, Harvey thwarts the grand cliché even as she courts it, stitching together a polyphony of voices, visions and songs in a patchwork too slippery for any matinee idol to wear." Harvey is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. She teaches in the English department's writing program; her teaching deals with African and disaporic literature and culture, digital and new media, poetry and lyric essays, and multimodal composition. She is on the faculty for The Frost Place's 2017 Conference on Poetry.

Artist statement

Harvey has described her artistic interest as spanning genres to express "the diverse lives and experiences of Black American women through literature...the visibility and invisibility of Black women, our mental health and self-care, and the evidence of our imaginations in society as manifested in our hair, clothing, speech, parenting, decisions not to parent, and interactions with other women."

Comics

Harvey wrote her first comic, an issue of "Flatbush Maiden," as an undergraduate. In 2016, Harvey became a writer for the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

series ''

'', a spinoff of the Black Panther series; she and

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection '' Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayit ...

are the first two black women to write for Marvel.

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...

, who initially connected Gay and Harvey with the Marvel franchise, said that he recommended Harvey because he felt her skill in poetry would translate well to the short-form storytelling necessary in successful comics: "That’s just so little space, and you have to speak with so much power. I thought she’d be a natural." Harvey contributed an origin story for ''World of Wakandas revolutionary leader Zenzi, and has said she was inspired by the example of

Winnie Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She se ...

. Harvey and Coates wrote another companion to the ''Black Panther'' series, called ''Black Panther & The Crew'', set in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

. That series was canceled due to slow sales and ran for six issues.

Forthcoming projects

Harvey is completing a second poetry manuscript and also working on a memoir about her younger sister's struggles with depression.

Personal life

Harvey is now divorced from

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In September 2014, he was one of 21 recipient ...

; the two met at a Cave Canem retreat for black poets in 1996. They have two children, a son and daughter. Harvey's sister died at the hospital where she went in search of psychiatric help.

Works

*''Hemming the Water'', Four Way Books 2013, *''The Subject of Retreat'' (poem, 2015) *''Hurricane'' (poem, 2013) *''Gingivitis, Notes on Fear'' (poem, 2013) *Selected poems vi
Washingtonart.com
*Selected poems vi
Bucknell.edu
*Her work has been anthologized in ''A Poet's Craft: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Sharing Your Poetry'' and The Force of ''What's Possible: Accessibility and the Avant - Garde.''

Awards

* Winner, 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award * Finalist, 2014

, Poetry * Winner, 2016 Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Awards, Established Artist, from the Pittsburgh Foundation and the

Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, and was formed with the combined support from two smaller, private foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. It awards more t ...

* Individual Artist grant in nonfiction from The Pittsburgh Foundation

References

External links

* *Interview with Harvey a
Theconversant.org
*Interview with Harvey a

*Interview with Harvey and Terrance Hayes a
New Letters on the Air
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Yona Living people Howard University alumni Ohio State University Graduate School alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty American women poets African-American comics creators African-American poets 1974 births 21st-century American poets Marvel Comics writers 21st-century American women writers