Kalamu ya Salaam (born March 24, 1947) 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 w ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, filmmaker, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

from the

9th Ward of New Orleans The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is boun ...

. A well-known activist and social critic, Salaam has spoken out on a number of racial and human rights issues. For years he did radio shows on

WWOZ WWOZ (90.7 FM) is a non-profit community-supported radio station in New Orleans. It is owned by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. The station specializes in music from or relating to the cultural heritage of New Orleans and the sur ...

. Salaam is the co-founder of the NOMMO Literary Society, a weekly workshop for Black writers.

Background

Born Vallery Ferdinand III in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, he graduated from high school in 1964, joined the U.S. Army and served in Korea."Kalamu ya Salaam"
The History Makers, November 14, 2002. He attended

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowlin ...

(1964–69) and Delgado Junior College, where he earned an Associate Arts degree in business administration."KALAMU YA SALAAM ('Pen of Peace') Bio-Sketch"
''ChickenBones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes''. He was the editor of ''The Black Collegian'' magazine for 13 years (1970–83), and has written for many publications including ''

Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illi ...

/Black World'', ''First World'', ''

The Black Scholar ''The Black Scholar'' (''TBS''), the third-oldest journal of Black culture and political thought in the United States, was founded in 1969 near San Francisco, California, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is arguably the most i ...

'', ''Black Books Bulletin'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Catalyst'', ''The Journal of Black Poetry'', ''Nimrod'', ''

Coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

'', ''Encore'', ''

The New Orleans Tribune ''The New Orleans Tribune'' was a newspaper serving the African-American community of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the first Black daily newspaper in the United States. History The ''Tribune'' was founded in 1864 by Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez ...

'', ''Wavelength'', ''The New Orleans Music Magazine'', ''

The Louisiana Weekly ''The Louisiana Weekly'' is a weekly newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. It emphasizes topics of interest to the African-American community, especially in the New Orleans area and south Louisiana. It has an estimated weekly circulati ...

'' newspaper.Antoine Battle
"Life of Kalamu ya Salaam"
''New Orleans Unmasked''. Retrieved April 10, 2021. He is co-founder/editor of Runagate Press. He is the moderator of Neo-Griot, a Black literature information blog.Neo-Griot
Kalamu ya Salaam's information blog. Retrieved April 10, 2021.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Blues Merchant Songs for Blkfolk''. New Orleans: BLKARTSOUTH, 1969. * ''Hofu ni kwenu: My Fears for You''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1973. * ''Pamoja tutashinda: Together We Will Win''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1973. * ''Ibura''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1976. * ''Tearing the Roof off the Sucker: The Fall of South Africa''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1977. * ''South African Showdown: Divestment Now''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1978. * ''Revolutionary Love: Poems and Essays''. New Orleans: Ahidiana-Habari, 1978. * ''Herufi: An Alphabet Reader''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1979. * ''Iron Flowers: A Poetic Report on a Visit to Haiti''. New Orleans: Ahidiana, 1979. * ''Our Women Keep Our Skies from Falling: Six Essays in Support of the Struggle to Smash Sexism and Develop Women''. New Orleans: Nkombo, 1980. * ''Our Music is No Accident. New Orleans: New Orleans Cultural Foundation, 1988''. mages_by_Keith_Calhoun_and_Chandra_McCormick.html" ;"title="Keith_Calhoun_and_Chandra_McCormick.html" ;"title="mages by Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick">mages by Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick">Keith_Calhoun_and_Chandra_McCormick.html" ;"title="mages by Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick">mages by Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick* ''What is Life? Reclaiming the Black Blues Self''. Third World Press: Chicago, 1994. * ''Tarzan Can - Not Return to Africa But I Can''. 1996. * ''He's The Prettiest: A Tribute to Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana's 50 Years of Mardi Gras Indian Suiting''. New Orleans: New Orleans Museum of Art, 1997. * ''360° A Revolution Of Black Poets''. Alexandria, Va.: Black Words; New Orleans: Runagate Press, 1998. * ''Magic of Juju: An Appreciation of the Black Arts Movement''. Third World Press: Chicago, 1998. * ''New Orleans Griot: The Tom Dent Reader''. UNO Press: New Orleans, 2018. * ''Be About Beauty''. UNO Press: New Orleans, 2018.

References

External links

Official website
*

E. Ethelbert Miller Eugene Ethelbert Miller, best known as E. Ethelbert Miller (born November 20, 1950), is an African-American poet, teacher and literary activist, based in Washington, DC.Hayley Garrison Phillips"Local Legend E. Ethelbert Miller Isn't Going Anywher ...

"Interview with Kalamu ya Salaam"
''Foreign Policy in Focus,'' May 15, 2007

by Jerry W. Ward, Jr. * Bill Rouselle
"A METRO Salute To Kalamu ya Salaam"
Metro Service Group, New Orleans, March 24, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Salaam, Kalamu ya Writers from New Orleans Living people American science fiction writers African-American novelists 1947 births Social critics American male novelists American male poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Louisiana African-American poets 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people African-American male writers