Hubbry Logo
Al YoungAl YoungMain
Open search
Al Young
Community hub
Al Young
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Al Young
Al Young
Al Young
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Albert James Young[1] (May 31, 1939 – April 17, 2021)[2] was an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. He was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2005 to 2008. Young's many books included novels, collections of poetry, essays, and memoirs. His work appeared in literary journals and magazines including Paris Review, Ploughshares,[3] Essence, The New York Times, Chicago Review,[4] Seattle Review, Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature, Chelsea, Rolling Stone, Gathering of the Tribes, and in anthologies including the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, and the Oxford Anthology of African American Literature.[5]

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Born May 31, 1939, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast near Biloxi.[1][6] His maternal grandparents had been sharecroppers.[1] Young attended the "Kingston School for Colored", a segregated school in the South.[7] He graduated in 1957 from Central High School in Detroit.[1]

From 1957 to 1960 he attended the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan he co-edited Generation, the campus literary magazine. He also met classmate Janet Coleman in Michigan, whom he later co-authored work with in 1989.[8]

In 1961 he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Settling at first in Berkeley, California, he held a wide variety of jobs (including folksinger, lab aide, disk jockey, medical photographer, clerk typist, employment counselor).[1][9] He graduated with honors in 1969 from University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), with a degree in Spanish.[1]

Career and teaching

[edit]

Young taught poetry, fiction writing and American literature at UC Berkeley; University of California, Santa Cruz from 1983 until the early 1990s;[10] University of California, Davis; Bowling Green State University; Foothill College; the Colorado College; Rice University; the University of Washington; the University of Michigan; and the University of Arkansas.[when?][citation needed]

From 1969 to 1976, he was Edward B. Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing at Stanford University near Palo Alto, where he lived and worked for three decades.[5]

In the 1970s, he wrote film scripts Joseph Strick, Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor.[9] He also wrote linear notes for George Benson's Breezin' album (1976).[9]

In 2002, he was appointed the San José State University's Lurie Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing.[citation needed]

He also taught at Charles University in the Czech Republic under the auspices of the Prague Summer Programs.[when?][citation needed] In the spring of 2003 he taught poetry at Davidson College (Davidson, NC), where he was McGee Professor in Writing. In the fall of 2003, as the first Coffey Visiting professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, he taught a poetry workshop. From 2003 to 2006, he served on the faculty of Cave Canem's summer workshop retreats for African-American poets.

His students included poet Persis Karim.[11]

Honors and awards

[edit]

In 1974, Young was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in fiction.[12] He was also awarded a Fulbright fellowship, two Puschart prizes, the PEN-USA Award, multiple National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Wallace Stegner fellowship.[13] He twice received the American Book Award, for Bodies and Soul: Musical Memoirs (1982),[9] and The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990–2000 (2002).[5]

In the 1980s and 1990s, as a cultural ambassador for the United States Information Agency, he traveled throughout South Asia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank.

In 2001, he traveled to the Persian Gulf to lecture on American and African-American literature and culture in Kuwait and in Bahrain for the U.S. Department of State. Subsequent lecture tours took him to Southern Italy in 2004, and to Italy in 2005. His poetry and prose have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, Urdu, Korean, and other languages. Blending story, recitation and song, Young often performed with musicians.[5]

On May 15, 2005, he was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.[14] In appointing Young as Poet Laureate in 2005, the Governor Schwarzenegger praised him: "He is an educator and a man with a passion for the Arts. His remarkable talent and sense of mission to bring poetry into the lives of Californians is an inspiration."[14] Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council declared: "Like jazz, Al Young is an original American voice."[14]

In 2009, Young was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) from Whittier College.[15]

Family life and death

[edit]

He was married to technical writer and editor Arline June Young (née Belch) from 1963 until her death in 2016.[1] The couple had one child, a son named Michael.[1] After living in Palo Alto from 1969 to 1999, in 2000 Young returned to Berkeley, where he continued to freelance.[5]

In February 2019, Young had a stroke. He died of complications of the stroke on April 17, 2021, in Concord, California, aged 81.[1][16][17]

Published works

[edit]

Poetry collections, full-length

[edit]
  • Dancing: Poems. Corinth Books. 1969. ISBN 9780870910579.[18]
  • The Song Turning Back Into Itself. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1971. ISBN 9780030866920.[18]
  • Geography of the Near Past: Poems. Holt paperback. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 1976. ISBN 9780030138768.[18]
  • The Blues Don't Change: New and Selected Poems. Louisiana State University Press. 1982. ISBN 9780807109786.
  • Heaven: Collected Poems: 1956-1990. Berkeley, CA: Creative Arts Book Company. 1992. ISBN 9780887390692.
  • The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990-2000. Loveletter Editions. 2001. ISBN 9781427601148.
  • Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001-2006. Angel City Press. 2006. ISBN 9781883318734.
  • Something About the Blues: An Unlikely Collection of Poetry. Sourcebooks MediaFusion. 2008. ISBN 9781402210648.[7]

Chapbooks

[edit]

Musical memoirs

[edit]

Novels

[edit]

Collaborations

[edit]
  • Jazz Idiom: blueprints, stills, and frames: the jazz photography of Charles L. Robinson (photographs and comments by Charles L. Robinson, poetic takes and riffs by Al Young, Heyday Books, 2008)

Anthologies edited

[edit]
  • The Literature of California, Volume 1: Native American Beginnings to 1945 (with Jack Hicks, James D. Houston and Maxine Hong Kingston, eds., University of California Press, 2000)
  • African American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology (HarperCollins College Publishers, 1996)
  • Yardbird Lives! (co-edited with Ishmael Reed, Grove Press, 1978)

Screenplays

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Al Young

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Al Young was an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and educator known for his lyrical writing that drew on jazz and blues influences to explore African American experiences, identity, and everyday life. He served as California Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2008, during which he advocated for poetry and literacy throughout the state, and authored more than 25 books across multiple genres over a career that spanned five decades. Born on May 31, 1939, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Young grew up in the segregated South and later attended the University of Michigan before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he earned his BA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969, made his home in Berkeley, and became a prominent figure in the region's literary community. His debut poetry collection, Dancing, appeared in 1969, establishing his distinctive voice, and he went on to publish acclaimed novels, memoirs, and essays while also working as a screenwriter, musician, and professor. Young's multifaceted career reflected his deep engagement with music and culture, earning him respect as a versatile artist and mentor. He died on April 17, 2021, at the age of 81.

Early Life

Birth and Family

Al Young was born on May 31, 1939, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Born Ernest James Young, he later changed his name to Al in childhood. As an African American, he came from a Southern family with roots in Mississippi, where his maternal grandparents had been sharecroppers. His mother was Mary Campbell, and he was raised primarily by her. Young was the oldest of seven children. He considered Albert James Young, the man his mother married when he was a baby, to be his father. His father worked as a professional musician.

Childhood and Early Influences

Al Young's family relocated from Mississippi to Detroit, Michigan, in 1946, when he was seven years old, shifting his childhood from the rural South to the urban industrial North. In the South, he absorbed rich folk stories and spent summers in rural Mississippi, learning Negro spirituals and traditional tales from his grandmother, Lillian Campbell, in the small hamlet of Pachuta. These experiences immersed him in African American oral traditions and cultural heritage that would later inform his work. He graduated from Central High School in Detroit in 1957. In Detroit, Young encountered a vibrant urban culture that complemented his Southern roots, particularly through music. His father, a professional jazz musician during the 1930s who later worked as an autoworker, exposed him to jazz and blues from an early age. Young later described his childhood as one where he "came up with jazz and through jazz and under the influence of jazz," highlighting its profound formative impact. He was a voracious reader and avid listener to diverse music from early childhood, cultivating interests in storytelling, poetry, and the interplay of vernacular sounds. Young has stated that jazz, blues, and vernacular music "have played a large role in shaping me," reflecting how these early exposures to Southern folk traditions and Detroit's musical landscape blended to influence his worldview and creative sensibilities.

Education

Al Young attended the University of Michigan before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969. This marked the completion of his formal undergraduate education following his time at Michigan, where he did not complete a degree.

Literary Career

Poetry

Al Young's poetry career began with his debut collection, Dancing, published in 1969 shortly after he earned his B.A. from the University of California. This work established his distinctive voice, blending lyrical introspection with influences from music and the African American experience. He followed with The Song Turning Back Into Itself in 1971 and Geography of the Near Past in 1976, continuing to explore personal and collective narratives through verse. A significant milestone came with The Blues Don't Change: New and Selected Poems in 1982, which gathered earlier work alongside new pieces and underscored his ongoing engagement with blues traditions as a metaphor for resilience and emotional depth. Young's poetry frequently draws on jazz and blues rhythms, incorporating musicality into his lines to evoke the spiritual and social dimensions of Black life, while addressing themes of identity, human connection, and introspection amid broader societal challenges. His verses often reflect a search for the human spirit through everyday experiences, with a layered approach that combines personal reflection and social commentary. Later collections include Heaven: Collected Poems 1956-1990 (1992), which compiled decades of his poetic output, The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990-2000 (2001), Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001-2006 (2006), and Something About the Blues: An Unlikely Collection of Poetry (2008). These works sustained his reputation for accessible yet profound poetry that merges musical influences with explorations of spirituality, memory, and cultural heritage. Young's poetic style has been noted for its warmth and rhythmic vitality, earning acclaim for capturing the complexities of African American life and universal human concerns.

Novels and Prose Fiction

Al Young's prose fiction consists primarily of five novels published between 1970 and 1988, which explore themes of African American identity, music, personal growth, and urban experience with a distinctive lyrical and musical sensibility. His debut novel, Snakes (1970), introduced a young protagonist drawn to blues and jazz in a Midwestern setting, establishing Young's characteristic blend of humor, introspection, and cultural observation. Who Is Angelina? (1975) followed, centering on a woman's journey of self-discovery amid social changes of the era. Sitting Pretty (1976) featured a more laid-back, charismatic central figure navigating everyday challenges with wit and resilience. Ask Me Now (1980) continued Young's exploration of family dynamics and personal reflection. His final novel, Seduction by Light (1988), incorporated elements of spiritual and emotional awakening within contemporary urban life. Across these works, Young's fiction draws heavily on musical rhythms and African American vernacular traditions, creating narratives that resonate with the same poetic sensibility found in his verse. While primarily recognized for poetry, his novels earned praise for their accessible yet profound portrayals of everyday lives shaped by culture and circumstance.

Essays and Non-Fiction

Al Young's non-fiction writings center on musical memoirs and essays that intertwine personal narrative with reflections on jazz, blues, and broader cultural experiences, often using music as a catalyst for exploring identity, memory, and society. His series of musical memoirs began with Bodies and Soul: Musical Memoirs (1981), which earned an American Book Award for its lyrical fusion of autobiography and music commentary. Subsequent works in this mode include Kinds of Blue: Musical Memoirs (1984), which continued the exploration of music as a lens for personal and cultural insight. In Drowning in the Sea of Love: Musical Memoirs (1995), Young presents exuberant and imaginative essays prompted by specific recordings and artists, ranging from tributes to John Coltrane, James Brown, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker to recollections triggered by songs such as Rosemary Clooney’s “Come On-a My House” or Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes-Benz.” These pieces emphasize the magical interplay between music and language, framing autobiographical events against the social and artistic tumults of the era. Young also co-authored Mingus/Mingus: Two Memoirs (1989) with Janet Coleman, offering an affectionate and candid portrait of jazz musician Charles Mingus through personal anecdotes and rare photographs. Young extended his non-fiction contributions through editorial work, co-editing Yardbird Lives! (1978) with Ishmael Reed and African American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology (1995), the latter providing a concise overview and selection of African American literary works for educational use.

Film and Television Work

Screenwriting Credits

Al Young engaged in screenwriting during the 1970s, contributing scripts to film projects involving several prominent actors and entertainers. He wrote screenplays for movies starring Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor. Official biographical materials from his time as California Poet Laureate further note that he worked as a screenwriter with these figures. Some accounts also mention scripts written for comedian Dick Gregory. These efforts represent an extension of his narrative skills from poetry, novels, and essays into the medium of film, though specific produced titles and full production details remain sparsely documented in available sources.

Media Appearances and Other Roles

Al Young made occasional television appearances as himself, typically in connection with his work as a poet and writer. In 1968, he appeared as a guest on the NBC morning program Today, discussing his literary pursuits. In 1990, he was featured as himself in an episode of the regional talk show Writers of Northern California, a long-running series (1978–1991) that profiled and interviewed authors associated with Northern California. No evidence indicates other significant on-camera roles, cameos, or acting credits in film or television.

Academic and Public Career

Teaching Positions

Al Young held a variety of teaching positions at universities across the United States, specializing in creative writing, poetry, fiction, and related literary subjects. He began his academic teaching career at Stanford University, where he served as the Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing from 1969 to 1979. During this period, he was recognized as an influential mentor and teacher, with former students and colleagues describing him as inspiring and gracious in his guidance of aspiring writers. Young also taught extensively at the University of California, Santa Cruz, beginning in the early 1980s. He worked with students in courses such as Writing About Community in 1983–84, and later served as a visiting associate professor in the mid- to late-1980s, teaching advanced writing, screenwriting, and the American short story. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, he was a lecturer in literature (creative writing), offering classes in fiction, screenwriting, advanced writing, and a course titled Art and Trash that examined major American literary works alongside commercially successful contemporary writing. He continued mentoring UC Santa Cruz students beyond his formal teaching roles. In addition to his long-term affiliations with Stanford and UC Santa Cruz, Young taught poetry, American literature, and fiction writing at numerous other institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Davis; Foothill College; Bowling Green State University; Rice University; the Colorado College; the University of Michigan; the University of Washington; and the University of Arkansas. In 2002, he was appointed the Lurie Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at San José State University, and in 2003 he served as the McGee Professor of Writing at Davidson College.

Poet Laureate of California

Al Young was appointed Poet Laureate of California on May 12, 2005, by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The position, established in 2001, sought to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists and to recognize poets and authors whose creative work has influenced the state. Schwarzenegger described Young as "a poet, an educator and a man with a passion for the arts" whose "remarkable talent and sense of mission to bring poetry into the lives of Californians is an inspiration." Young served in the role from 2005 to 2008. During his tenure, Young advocated for poetry by bringing it to diverse audiences across the state through public readings that often incorporated musical elements. He viewed the relationship between poetry and music as a dialogue rather than mere accompaniment, drawing on his longstanding interest in jazz and blues. In 2007, he undertook an intensive tour, reading his work in 40 rural communities throughout the Central Valley and mountain areas over the course of 11 days, frequently accompanied by a musician. Young's efforts emphasized outreach to varied communities, particularly in less urban regions, helping to extend the reach of poetry beyond traditional literary circles. His musically infused approach to readings, which integrated jazz rhythms and blues influences, distinguished his tenure and reinforced the interconnection between poetry and music in his public presentations. This work contributed to the broader mission of the Poet Laureate role by fostering wider appreciation for poetry throughout California.

Awards and Recognition

Literary Awards and Fellowships

Al Young received numerous prestigious fellowships and awards recognizing his contributions to poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts supported his creative writing on multiple occasions, while a Guggenheim Fellowship further enabled his literary projects. He also held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, which provided additional resources for his work. Other notable honors include a Fulbright fellowship and the PEN-Library of Congress Award for Short Fiction, alongside the PEN-USA Award and two Pushcart Prizes. These recognitions reflect the broad acclaim for his poetry collections, novels, and essays across several decades.

Personal Life and Death

Family and Personal Life

Al Young married Arline June Belch in 1963. His wife worked as a technical writer and editor. The couple had one son, Michael James Young, born in 1971. Although they separated in 1985, Young and his wife remained legally married and on good terms as friends until her death in 2016. Young lived much of his adult life in California, including extended periods in Palo Alto and Berkeley. He maintained a lifelong passion for music, which shaped his personal interests alongside his writing.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Al Young suffered a major stroke in 2019 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to use his gift for verbal expression. He spent the next two years as an inpatient in care facilities, where he remained steady, cool, and graceful despite his limitations, never complaining and occasionally conducting along to Duke Ellington recordings with his non-paralyzed hand. Friends and family established a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his medical expenses, which received contributions from hundreds of supporters, including Henry Louis Gates Jr., Amy Tan, and Richard Ford. Al Young died on April 17, 2021, at a private care facility in Concord, California, at the age of 81, from complications related to the stroke. His passing prompted tributes from friends, former students, and fellow writers who remembered his elegant wit, magnetic presence, and profound connection between poetry and music, with Ishmael Reed describing him as one of the most underrated writers in the country. His poems continued to appear in prominent anthologies following his death, underscoring his lasting literary influence.

References

  1. https://poets.org/poet/al-young
  2. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/books/al-young-dead.html
  3. https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/04/21/al-young-california-poet-laureate-berkeley-ca-dies-81
  4. https://communityofwriters.org/al-young-1939-2021/
  5. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/Obituary/article/86390-say-it-loud-a-poet-and-proud-the-life-and-books-of-al-young.html
  6. https://aaregistry.org/story/a-true-delta-poet-al-young/
  7. https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/al-young-california-poet-laureate-novelist-21177728.php
  8. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/poetry-young-al-young
  9. https://lakechapalaartists.com/?p=4708
  10. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/al-young
  11. https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL534287A/Al_Young
  12. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/in-tune-with-the-blues-a-recovered-interview-with-the-late-al-young-former-california-poet-laureate-of-california
  13. https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/56202.Al_Young
  14. https://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/mississippi-writers/al-young
  15. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-88001-388-8
  16. https://www.amazon.com/Kinds-Blue-Al-Young/dp/0916870820
  17. https://www.amazon.com/Mingus-Two-Memoirs-Janet-Coleman/dp/0879101490
  18. https://arts.ca.gov/press-release/california-poet-laureate-al-young-to-tour-state/
  19. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8257997/
  20. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7345008/
  21. https://bookhaven.stanford.edu/2021/04/al-young-is-dead-at-81/
  22. https://currents.ucsc.edu/04-05/05-16/young.asp
  23. https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896077/al-young-former-california-poet-laureate-dies-at-81
  24. https://pshares.org/authors/al-young/
  25. https://aalbc.com/authors/Al-Young
  26. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/young-albert-james
  27. https://kids.kiddle.co/Al_Young
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.