26 Facts About Mari Evans

Mari Evans was an African-American poet, writer, and dramatist associated with the Black Arts Movement.

Mari Evans's poetry is known for its lyrical simplicity and the directness of its themes.

Mari Evans wrote nonfiction and edited Black Women Writers : A Critical Evaluation, an important and timely critical anthology devoted to the work of 15 writers.

Mari Evans died at the age of 97 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mari Evans was born in Toledo, Ohio, on July 16,1919, to Mary Jane Jacobs and William Reed Mari Evans.

Mari Evans attended local public schools before enrolling at the University of Toledo in 1939.

Mari Evans majored in fashion design, but left in 1941 without earning a college degree.

In 1947, Mari Evans left the East Coast and moved to Indianapolis.

Mari Evans gained notoriety as a poet during the 1960s and 1970s and became associated with the Black Arts Movement, an effort to explore African-American culture and history through the arts and literature.

Mari Evans was an activist interested in social justice issues and a critic of racism.

Mari Evans began a series of teaching appointments in American universities in 1969.

Mari Evans accepted a position the following year as an assistant professor and writer-in-residence at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she taught until 1978.

From 1968 to 1973, Mari Evans produced, wrote, and directed The Black Experience, a weekly television program for WTTV in Indianapolis.

In 1975 Evans received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from Marian College.

Mari Evans continued her teaching career at Purdue University, Washington University in St Louis, Cornell University, the State University of New York at Albany, and Spelman College.

Mari Evans became "known for her intensity and no-nonsense candor".

Mari Evans edited the "ground-breaking anthology", Black Women Writers : A Critical Evaluation, and wrote Clarity As Concept: A Poet's Perspective, a collection of essays.

Mari Evans tackled social issues in her writing, even in her children's books.

In 1975 Mari Evans attended the MacDowell Writers Colony and in 1984 she attended the Yaddo writers retreat.

Mari Evans was an activist for prison reform, and was against capital punishment.

Mari Evans worked with theater groups and local community organizations including Girls, Inc of Greater Indianapolis and the Young Men's Christian Association.

Mari Evans, who was divorced and the mother of two sons, led a quiet life in Indianapolis.

Mari Evans enjoyed playing the piano and "was a fan of the Indiana Avenue jazz scene" during the 1940s and '50s.

Mari Evans died in Indianapolis on March 10,2017, at the age of 97.

Mari Evans was "often considered a key figure of the Black Arts Movement" and among the most influential of the twentieth century's black poets.

Black Women Writers : A Critical Evaluation, a collection of more than forty essays related to the literary contributions of fifteen women writers, including Mari Evans, is considered "an important addition" to the limited scholarly work on the subject of black women authors.