“Picasso in Africa” by Najee Dorsey
Yona Harvey
LITERARY ARTIST, PITTSBURGH PA
about
Yona Harvey is an American poet and recipient of the the Kate Tufts Discovery Award for her first poetry collection, Hemming the Water. Her second poetry collection, You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love, is forthcoming from Four Way Books in 2020. She is also among the first black women to write for Marvel Comics. She won the inaugural Lucille Clifton Legacy Award in poetry from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the Carol R. Brown Achievement Award from the Heinz Foundation. She is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, teaches creative writing workshops, delivers writing-specific speaker topics, and is at work on her first memoir. She currently serves on the editorial board of Poetry Daily.
Yona can be retained as a speaker, reader, or workshop facilitator.
booking requests

publications
You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love
A Stahlecker series selection
by Yona Harvey
Four Way Books, coming September 2020
isbn 194558856X, 9781945588563
media
Featured video Walks in Wakanda: Yona in conversation with writer, cultural critic, and Rise of the Black Panther author, Evan Narcisse.
10 Black Poets of Past and Present Who Deserve Unending Recognition for Their Work
Well + Good | July 17, 2020
Artists Offer New Maps of Pittsburgh’s Soul
wesa.fm | June 8, 2020
Fellowship Awardee, George A & Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation
brown.edu | 2020-2021
A Pioneer in the Literary World of ‘Black Panther’
DiverseEducation.com | February 18, 2018
Alumna writes for Black Panther comics
OSU.edu | February 16, 2018
Lives of A Poet
PITT Magazine | Summer 2017
Women Writers of Color: Yona Harvey
therumpus.net | March 2017
writings
“Maher’s willful ignorance as to the value of comics inhibits him from recognizing the emotional struggles and triumphs delivered to us every Comic Book Wednesday. Why should a man whose empire revolves around his limited perspective suddenly see? For everyone else, though, there’s an opportunity to view Black Panther, Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight and Manifold in a new light—a light that does not blind but illuminates the depth and complexity of who these characters might be.”
Read MARVEL’S VOICES #1 at your local comic shop!
. . .
. . .
of my female species systematically undermined for the sake of a male leader.
Of course, I stole my files to burn later.
. . .
“Sonnet for a Tall Flower Born at Dinnertime,”
Southern Flower, I want to quote the bard,
to serenade you, to raise a glass to you.
. . .
She’s got a hundred & two temperature, delivery room nurses said. You’re
gonna live, though—long enough to know you’re going
to go as quickly as you came, gonna make your mother swear by you,
. . .
All above poems published in The Spectacle
Black Futures, Black Pasts
w/ Yona Harvey & Cherene Sharrard (Grimoire, Autumn House Press, 2020)
Friday, October 23rd 2020
Books Noted Live: A Reading and Conversation with Yona Harvey and Taylor Johnson (Inheritance, Alice James Books, 2020)
Friday, October 23rd 2020 @ 7pm EDT
Yona Harvey with Ted Mathys and Linda Hogan
From October 16, 2020
Town Hall Seattle
Lyric World: Shin Yu Pai with Yona Harvey
In The Moment podcast
Episode 72 from October 5, 2020


writing workshop topics include:
The Art of Journaling
The Art of Revision
Archives and Autobiography
DIY: Generating Writing Exercises for yourself and others
Ekphrastic Fantastic: Writing with Art and Music
Mental Health Writing
Politics and Prose: Engaging News and Politics
Visual Arts Poetry
Restorative Writing for Mind and Body
Write Yourself into a Comic (young adults)
speaking topics and one-on-one consultations include:
Budgeting on a Shoestring (women and young adults)
African American Poetry
One Vision, Many Vehicles: Storytelling in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Comics
Poetry Manuscript Editing
Protecting Your Writing Practice
Writing and Censorship
Writing Comics (diversity in comics, women in comics)
Writing and Research
Yes, We Can: Women 40 and over Publishing First Books and Beyond
contact
social media
Twitter: @yonaharvey
Instagram: @yonaharveywriter
Facebook: @yonaharveywriter

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Yona can be retained as a speaker, reader, or workshop facilitator through her contact form. Inquiries on publications, writings, poems and writing comics are appreciated and emails will be answered as her schedule permits.
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