Eugene Ethelbert Miller (born November 20, 1950) is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, teacher and literary activist, based in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

.Hayley Garrison Phillips
"Local Legend E. Ethelbert Miller Isn't Going Anywhere"
'' Washingtonian'', February 6, 2018. He is the author of several collections of poetry and two memoirs, the editor of ''

Poet Lore ''Poet Lore'' is an English-language literary magazine based in Bethesda, Maryland. Established in 1889 by Charlotte Porter and Helen Archibald Clarke, two progressive young Shakespeare scholars who believed in the evolutionary nature of lite ...

'' magazine, and the host of the weekly

WPFW WPFW (89.3 FM) is a public radio and jazz music community radio station, serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, wit studios located on K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The station's slogan is "Jazz and J ...

morning radio show ''On the Margin''.

Life and career

Miller was born in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He received his B.A. from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. He is the author of 13 books of poetry, two memoirs and is the editor of three poetry anthologies. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including ''

Beltway Poetry Quarterly ''Beltway Poetry Quarterly'' is an English-language, online literary magazine based in Washington, D.C., United States. References External links''Beltway Poetry Quarterly'' official site {{italic title 2000 establishments in Washington, D. ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Sojourners ''Sojourners'' is a progressive monthly magazine and daily online publication of the American Christian social justice organization Sojourners, which arose out of the Sojourners Community. It was first published in 1971 under the original ti ...

''. Miller was the founder and director of the Ascension Poetry Reading Series, one of the oldest literary series in the Washington area. He was director of Howard University's African-American Resource Center from 1974 for more than 40 years. Miller has taught at various schools, including

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

Emory & Henry College Emory & Henry University (E&H or Emory) is a private university in Emory, Virginia, United States. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry Un ...

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Harpeth Hall School Harpeth Hall School is a Independent school, private, college-preparatory school for Single-sex education, girls in the Green Hills, Nashville, Tennessee, Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Its beginning dates back ...

and the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

. He was also a core faculty member of the writing seminars at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

. He worked with

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On 27 January 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

for the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

(NEH).

Dupont Circle Metro - north entrance sign

He currently serves as board chairperson of the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

.E. Ethelbert Miller Finding Aid
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. He is also on the boards of Split This Rock and the Writer's Center, and since 2002 has been co-editor of ''

'' magazine, the oldest poetry journal in the US. He is former chair of the Humanities Council of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and has served on the boards of the

AWP AWP may refer to: Organizations Political parties *American Workers Party *Animal Welfare Party, a political party in the United Kingdom * Australian Workers Party, a political party in Australia *Awami Workers Party, a left-wing political party ...

, the

Edmund Burke School Edmund Burke School is an independent college University-preparatory school, preparatory school in Washington, D.C. Located on Connecticut Avenue NW, two blocks from the Van Ness – UDC (WMATA station), Van Ness - UDC metro station, Burke is hom ...

PEN American Center PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide thr ...

PEN/Faulkner Foundation The PEN/Faulkner Foundation (est. 1980) is an independent charitable arts foundation that supports the art of fiction and encourages readers of all ages. It accomplishes this through a number of programs, including its flagship PEN/Faulkner Aw ...

, and th
Washington Area Lawyer for the Arts (WALA)
He hosts a weekly morning radio show on

called ''On the Margin''. In 1979,

Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Barr ...

, the Mayor of

Washington, D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

., where Miller lives, proclaimed September 28, 1979, as "E. Ethelbert Miller Day." Subsequently, on May 21, 2001, an "E. Ethelbert Miller Day" was also proclaimed by the Mayor of

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. Miller's papers are held at

and

The George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first ...

Awards and honors

*1979: September 28 proclaimed as "E. Ethelbert Miller Day" by the Mayor of Washington, D.C. *1982: Mayor's Art Award for Literature *1988: Received the Public Humanities Award from the D.C. Humanities Council"Biography"
, E. Ethelbert Miller website. *1993: Columbia Merit Award *1994: Made an Honorary Citizen of the city of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

on July 17 by the

Mayor of Baltimore The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by th ...

*1994:

PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award The PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award is for U.S. multicultural writers, to "promote works of excellence by writers of all cultural and racial backgrounds and to educate both the public and the media as to the nature of multicultural work. ...

(for ''In Search of Color Everywhere'') *1995:

O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize The O.B. Hardison Jr. Poetry Prize was awarded by the Folger Shakespeare Library to honor a U.S. poet whose art and teaching demonstrated great imagination and daring.

*1996: Honorary doctorate of literature awarded on May 18 by Emory & Henry College *1997: Stephen Henderson Poetry Award from the African American Literature and Culture Society *2001: May 21 declared as "E. Ethelbert Miller Day" by the Mayor of Jackson, Tennessee *2003: ''Fathering Words'' selected by DC WE READ for the one book, one city program sponsored by the D.C. Public Libraries *2003: Honored by First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

*2004:

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

Scholarship recipient *2015: Inducted into the Washington, DC Hall of Fame *2016: AWP George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature and the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Distinguished Honor *2018: Inducted into Gamma Xi Phi, a fraternity for artists

Bibliography

Poetry

*"The Land of Smiles and the Land of No Smiles: A Poem." 1974. * * * * *''The Fire This Time: 1992 and Beyond Los Angeles'' (Heaven Chapbook series),

White Fields Press White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

, 1993. * * * * * * * * ''The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller'' (ed. Kirsten Porter), Willow Books, 2016. * ''If God Invented Baseball: Poems'',

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2018. * ''When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery and Other Baseball Stories'', Simon and Schuster, 2021.

Anthologies

* * * * * *Jonathan Andersen, ed. (2008). ''Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poetry from the Other U. S. A.'' Smokestack Books.

Memoirs

* *

References

External links

"Living the Legacy"
– official website
American Academy of Poets page
at ''

''
Audio interview
with

Grace Cavalieri Grace Cavalieri is an American poet, playwright, and radio host of the Library of Congress program '' The Poet and the Poem''. In 2019, she was appointed the tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland. Education * BS - Education: English and History, The ...

"E. Ethelbert Miller"
''reverbiage'', NPR
"Poetry by E. Ethelbert Miller"
, ''On Being''
"E. Ethelbert Miller, Featured Writer"
Writing For Peace, February 2020.
"Talking With Poets: E. Ethelbert Miller, The Poet of Baseball and of Life"
Interview with

Indran Amirthanayagam Indran Amirthanayagam (born 1960) is a Sri Lankan-American poet-diplomat, essayist and translator in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, French language, French, Portuguese and Haitian Creole. Life Amirthanayagam was born in 19 ...

. The Poetry Channel, July 12, 2021.
E. Ethelbert Miller Receives 2022 Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award
at HowardZinn.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, E. Ethelbert 1950 births Living people 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American poets African-American male writers African-American poets American male poets American University faculty Bennington College faculty Emory and Henry University faculty George Mason University faculty Howard University alumni PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners Poets from New York (state) University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty Writers from the Bronx