Minnie Bruce Pratt (September 12, 1946 – July 2, 2023) was an American poet, educator, activist, and essayist. She retired in 2015 from her position as Professor of Writing and Women's Studies at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

where she was invited to help develop the university's first

LGBT studies Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBTQ studies is the study of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoric, Asexuality, asexual, Aromanticism, arom ...

program.

Early life and education

Pratt was born in Selma, Alabama, on September 12, 1946, and grew up in Centreville, Alabama. Her parents were Virginia Brown Pratt, a social worker, and William Luther Pratt Jr., a clerk. She graduated with a BA from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

(1968) and earned a PhD in English literature from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

(1979).

Professional career

In 1977, Pratt helped to found WomanWrites, a Southeastern lesbian writers conference. While attending the University of North Carolina in 1978, she joined Feminary, a southern feminist writing collective based in Chapel Hill and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, North Carolina. In 1984, she co-founded LIPS, a Washington, DC, lesbian

affinity group An affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong. Affinity groups are generally precluded from being under the aegis of any governmental agency, and their purposes ...

. As the group's last public action, they participated in civil disobedience at the 1987 protest of the '' Bowers v. Hardwick'' sodomy law decision made by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, becoming the first group to be arrested at this protest. Her political affiliations included the International Action Center, the National Women's Fightback Network, and the

National Writers Union National Writers Union (NWU) is a trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers founded on 19 November 1981. NWU is affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Authors Forum (IAF), a ...

; she also served as managing editor of the

Workers World Party The Workers World Party (WWP) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in the United States founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy. WWP members are sometimes called Marcyites. Marcy and his followers split from the Socialist Workers Part ...

newspaper. Pratt wrote the 1990 book ''Crimes Against Nature'', in which she described losing custody of her children because of her lesbianism. In 1991, the book won the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbo ...

for Literature. Pratt wrote extensively on race, class, gender, and sexual theory. Along with

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

writers

Chrystos Chrystos (; born November 7, 1946, as Christina Smith) is a two-spirit writer and activist whose work explores Native American civil rights, social justice, and feminism. They are of mixed Menominee– Lithuanian/ Alsace–Lorraine heritage. C ...

and

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...

, she received a 1991 Hellman/Hammett award from the Fund for Free Expression to writers "who have been victimized by political persecution". Pratt appeared in

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous LGBT social move ...

's 1996 film, '' The Transexual Menace''.. Retrieved February 12, 2021. Pratt served on the faculty of the

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

school

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenge ...

. Pratt joined

in 2005. She has published several poetry collections, including ''S/HE'' (1995), a meditation on gender fluidity and identity, and ''Inside the Money Machine'' (2011), which critiques capitalism and economic oppression. Her poetry often blends lyrical beauty with political urgency, making her a voice in contemporary

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and LGBTQ+ literature. In 2022, Pratt released ''Magnified'', a poetry collection born out of the loss of her longtime partner,

Leslie Feinberg Leslie Feinberg (September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014) was an American butch lesbian, transgender activist, communist, and author. Feinberg authored '' Stone Butch Blues'' in 1993.

, a trans lesbian activist and communist revolutionary.

Personal life

Pratt divided her time between

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, New York and Centreville, Alabama. She was the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

of author-activist

Leslie Feinberg Leslie Feinberg (September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014) was an American butch lesbian, transgender activist, communist, and author. Feinberg authored '' Stone Butch Blues'' in 1993.

, who died in November 2014 at age 65. Feinberg and Pratt married in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 2011. Pratt had two sons, Ben and Ransom Weaver, by a previous marriage to poet Marvin E. Weaver II, which started while she attended college. In 1975, Pratt and her husband divorced in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She lost custody of her children because the state criminalized homosexual activity at the time. Pratt's children, Ben and Ransom Weaver, announced in June 2023 that Pratt had been diagnosed with a "severe health problem" and was receiving palliative care. She died in Syracuse, New York, on July 2, 2023, aged 76. Her ''New York Times'' obituary specified that she had suffered from

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

Published works

* * Chosen for the 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Nonfiction Books, by the Publishing Triangle, 2004. * * American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award in Literature 1991, The

Lamont Poetry Selection The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

of The Academy of American Poets, 1989. * * * * Best Gay and Lesbian Book of the Year by ''ForeWord: Magazine of Independent Bookstores and Booksellers'', 2000. * * Chosen Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. * *

Honors and awards

* 1989 -

of the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outrea ...

for ''Crime Against Nature'' * 1990 - Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry, from the National Endowment for the Arts * 1991 - American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award in Literature for ''Crime Against Nature'' * 2002 - Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the

Poetry Society of America Poetry (from the Greek word '' poiesis'', "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Any partic ...

, "Picking Up a Job Application" * 2003 -

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

for ''The Dirt She Ate'' * 2005 - Fellowship in Poetry, New Jersey State Council on the Arts * 2011 -

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...

's Audre Lorde Award for lesbian poetry for ''Inside the Money Machine''

References

External links

Official site

* Pratt, Minnie Bruce
"When I Say 'Steal,' Who Do You Think Of?"
''Southern Spaces'', July 21, 2004. * Pratt, Minnie Bruce
"No Place."
''Southern Spaces'', July 27, 2004.
Guide to the Minnie Bruce Pratt Papers at Duke University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Minnie Bruce 1946 births 2023 deaths American essayists Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry winners Stonewall Book Award winners American lesbian writers Activists from Selma, Alabama Syracuse University faculty University of Alabama alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American LGBTQ poets Writers from Syracuse, New York American communists Communist women writers American women poets American women essayists LGBTQ people from Alabama American LGBTQ academics American women academics American anti-racism activists 21st-century American women writers Deaths from brain cancer in New York (state)