Ishmael Reed
1938-
Other Works
Conjure
Chattanooga
A Secretary to the Spirits
Early Activism Ishmael Reed was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the age of four, he moved with his family to Buffalo, New York, where he spent the next 20 years. Reed attended the University of Buffalo, where professors recognized and encouraged his ability to write. However, he dropped out
during his junior year because of financial problems and because he felt that the university environment did not provide a true picture of the gaps between America's social classes. In 1960, he moved into a low-income housing project to judge for himself how the poor really lived.
Literary Careers Although writing is his primary profession, Reed has also worked as a reporter, an editor, a publisher, and an actor. He has taught and lectured at Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, and the University of California at Berkeley. In 1961, while working as a newspaper reporter in Buffalo, he co-hosted a local radio talk show. The show was canceled after Reed interviewed
the controversial civil rights leader Malcolm X.
Outspoken Critic Reed believes strongly in freedom of speech and is an outspoken critic of political and social injustices. He criticizes those who think things are fine just as they are, and he uses his poetry and prose to point out the faults of well-known individuals from all corners of society—from politicians and dictators to actors and authors. Although he has made enemies with some of his criticism, he has also won many admirers and many awards for his writing.
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