Fun Facts Friday: Jayne Cortez

Jayne Cortez (10 May, 1934 – 28 December, 2012 was poet, publisher, performer, and activist. She is part of the Black Arts movement canon.

Sallie Jayne Richardson was born in Fort Huachuca, AZ as the second of three children. Her father was a career military man, and her mother was a secretary.
The family moved to Los Angeles, CA when the future poet was seven years old, and where she grew up.
As a young girl she loved jazz and Latin musing. Later she studied music, as well as art and drama, in high school.
Sadly, she had to drop out of Compton Community College due to financial difficulties. It was than that she took on a nom-de-plume of Cortez, honoring her Filipino grandmother.
She was married to Ornette Coleman, a jazz musician from 1954 to 1964, and later own married Melvin Edwards, a painter and sculptor.
An activist though and through, she was involved in the fight for civil rights. Ms. Cortez advocated for using to push political agenda.
Jayne Cortez published about 12 books of poetry. Her work has been translated to 28 languages.
During her lifetime, Ms. Cortez taught, lectured, and performed at many festivals, universities, and museums.
In 1991, Jayne Cortez founded her own publishing company, Watts Repertory Company, and the Organization of Women Writes of Africa, splitting her time between two homes, New York City and Dakar, Senegal.
Jayne Cortez received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and several awards including the American Book Award, and the International African Festival Award.