Julius Lester

Julius Lester (born January 27, 1939) is an American writer of books for children and adults[1] and an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also a photographer,[2] as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs.

Biography

Early life and family

Born on January 27, 1939, in St. Louis, Missouri, Julius Lester is the son of Rev. W. D. Lester, a Methodist minister, and Julia (Smith) Lester. The family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, in 1941, and to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1952. In 1960 he received his BA from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a major in English and minors in Art and Spanish.[3]

In 1961 he moved to New York City where he married Joan Steinau. They had two children, Jody Simone (1965) and Malcolm Coltrane (1967). The couple divorced in 1970. As of July 2012, Malcolm Lester is head of Grace Episcopal Day School in Kensington, Maryland.[4]

Julius Lester is African-American and a convert to Judaism.[5][6]

New York years

During his New York years, Lester hosted a radio show on WBAI-FM (1968–75); cohosted (with Jonathan Black) "Free Time", a television show on WNET-NY (Channel 13), for two years; taught a course on Afro-American history at the New School for Social Research; and recorded two albums of traditional and original songs for Vanguard Records, Julius Lester (1966) and Departures (1967). A compilation of songs from both albums was released on a CD, Dressed Like Freedom, on Ace Records in 2007.

University years

In 1971 he began teaching in the Afro-American Studies department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He remained in that department until 1988 when he became a member of the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies department, where he remained until his retirement at the end of 2003. During his 32 years at the university, Lester taught courses in five departments: Comparative Literature ("Black and White Southern Fiction"), English ("Religion in Western Literature"), Afro-American Studies ("The Writings of W. E. B. Du Bois"), ("Writings of James Baldwin"), ("Literature of the Harlem Renaissance"), ("Blacks and Jews: A Comparative Study"), and Judaic Studies ("Biblical Tales and Legends") and ("The Writings of Elie Wiesel"), History ("Social Change and the 1960s"), one of the university's largest and most popular courses. He was awarded all three of the university's most prestigious faculty awards: the Distinguished Teacher's Award, the Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship, and the Chancellor's Medal, the university's highest honor.[7] The Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected him as the Massachusetts State Professor of the Year 1986.[7]

Creative endeavors

Since 1968 Lester has written 44 books: eight nonfiction, 31 children's books, one book of poetry and photographs (with David Gahr), and three adult novels. His very first book was an instructional book on how to play the 12-string guitar, co-authored with Pete Seeger. Among the awards his books have received are the Newbery Honor, Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award finalist, ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award finalist, National Book Critics Circle Honor Book, and the New York Times Outstanding Book Award. His books have been translated into eight languages.[7]

He has published more than 200 essays and book and film reviews for such publications as The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Op-Ed page, The Boston Globe, Village Voice, The New Republic, Moment, Forward and Dissent.[7]

His photographs have been included in an exhibit of images from the civil rights movement at the Smithsonian Institution. He has had solo shows at the University of Massachusetts Student Union Gallery, the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass., Valley Photo Center, Springfield, Mass., and the Robert Floyd Photography Gallery, Southampton, Mass.

List of works

[8]

Awards

Book awards

Other awards

References

  1. ↑ "Search results for 'Julius Lester'". WorldCat (worldcat.org). Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  2. ↑ Julius Lester at Profotos.com.
  3. ↑ "Biography: Julius Lester". Scholastic Teachers (scholastic.com/teachers). Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  4. ↑ "Discover Author Julius Lester". HarperCollins.com. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  5. ↑ "Julius Lester: There's 'no magic formula' for blacks and Jews". J (jweekly.com). February 16, 1996. San Francisco Jewish Community Publications Inc. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  6. ↑ Brad Pilcher. "Not the Face in the Mirror: An Interview with Julius Lester". American Jewish Life (ajlmagazine.com), January/February 2007. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Julius Lester, professor emeritus". Judaic and Near Eastern Studies. University of Massachusetts Amherst (umass.edu/judaic). Archived from the original on 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  8. ↑ "My Books". Julius Lester. Authors Guild (authorsguild.net). Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  9. ↑ The Girl Who Saved Yesterday page at Creston Books.
  10. ↑ "Phoenix Picture Book Award". Children's Literature Association (childlitassn.org). June 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  11. ↑ "Coretta Scott King Author Awards". The African American Literature Book Club (aalbc.com). Retrieved 2010-03-30.
Other sources

External links

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