DePaul University has tapped noted Chicago poet, essayist, editor and educator Haki Madhubuti to fill its Ida B. Wells-Barnett Professorship.  Madhubuti, who will join DePaul’s faculty for the 2010-11 academic year, will be introduced to the DePaul community by nationally acclaimed poet and educator Nikki Giovanni at a special reception and program Sept. 15.

The program will be held in DePaul’s Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St., Chicago.  It will begin with a reception from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by a program from 6 to 7 p.m. featuring remarks and readings by both Madhubuti and Giovanni. The event will conclude with a question-and-answer session and book signing.

“DePaul is pleased to welcome Haki Madhubuti as its Ida B. Wells-Barnett Professor,” said Charles Suchar, dean of DePaul’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “It is fitting that Nikki Giovanni joins us to officially introduce Haki to the DePaul community because they both stand as icons in the African American literary community. We look forward to having Haki as a resource for our students and are proud that Nikki Giovanni will travel to DePaul to help us formally welcome him.” 

As one of the most widely read American poets, Giovanni is known for outspokenness in her writing and lectures. She is recognized worldwide for her work as a writer, commentator, activist and educator. She currently is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.  She will introduce Madhubuti, who also gained national acclaim for his words.

 Madhubuti, who was born Donald L. Lee, earned his place as a literary force and spirited poet during the turbulent 1960s when he published a collection of his poetry. It was this entirely self-published and distributed work that led Madhubuti to found the Third World Press as a publishing entity free of established corporate influence.

Madhubuti has become one of the most prominent African-American authors of his time with more than 22 books of essays and poetry published.  He writes experimental, free-verse, politically charged poetry with a staccato rhythm. During his career, Madhubuti’s poetry has shifted its focus from personal to the political. His latest book, “Liberation Narratives: Collected and New Poems (1966-2009),” is a collection of his poetry spanning his illustrious career. It has helped define and sustain a movement that added music and brash street language to traditional poetry.

As an educator, Madhubuti focused on the education of African-American youth.  He is the co-founder of the Institute of Positive Education/New Concept School and several Chicago charter schools, including Betty Shabazz International Charter School, Barbara A. Sizemore Middle School and DuSable Leadership Academy.

Madhubuti earned his stripes in the civil rights movement working to help young African- American writers find their voices. He was a writer-in-residence at Cornell University and Howard University, where he became involved in Pan-Africanism. He also worked with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference—experiences that helped inform his activist poetry.

Before joining the faculty at DePaul, Madhubuti was a professor and director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Chicago State University, where he also served as founder and director emeritus of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature.

Madhubuti has garnered numerous recognitions for his work and accomplishments, including fellowships from both the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2007, he was named one of Chicago magazine’s Chicagoans of the Year.

Madhubuti, who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, will be part of DePaul’s African and Black Diaspora Studies program, where he will teach classes and hold faculty and public lectures. He is the third recipient of the professorship named for civil rights activist and journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett.  Educator and social commentator Michael Eric Dyson and Chicago journalist Laura Washington previously held the post.