Melanie J. Martin is a native of Detroit, Michigan, who has immersed herself in the literary world and joined the ranks of other accomplished writers such as Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, and Jay-Z. She is currently pursuing her PhD in literature at Howard University while also working on fulfilling her first major publishing contract with a small independent press.
Ms. Martin’s poetry book “The Mud Angels” was published by Koko Press in 2009 and reissued by W.W. Norton & Company in 2011. “African American Review” called it an “impassioned love letter to a city that too often takes everyday heroism for granted…” “Essence Magazine” quoted Elgin Baylor as saying, “Melanie Martin is the real deal.” In 2010, Melanie J. Martin received a Pushcart Poetry Prize Grant for her poetry collection entitled “The Mud Angels” hence The book has been compared to the work of Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Nikki Giovanni.
Melanie J. Martin’s next poetry collection entitled “The Milk Run” was published in 2011 by Koko Press. It is a poetry collection inspired by the musical group, The Milk Carton Kids. She received a Pushcart Poetry Prize Grant for this book as well. In 2012, Melanie J. Martin was awarded the prestigious Audre Lorde Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Black Women’s Blueprint Literary Festival and the Audre Lorde Project. Her new collection of poetry entitled “The Milk Run” (Koko Press) will be released in 2013 with an accompanying CD to promote it. The book contains a musical score by the musical group The Milk Carton Kids.
In conjunction with her poetry collections, Melanie J. Martin has also worked on the development of a novel entitled “The Sugar Shack”. It is loosely based on the work of Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Ellison.
Melanie J. Martin is an African American author who writes poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Her work has appeared in journals, anthologies and various other publications such as Essence Magazine, The Atlantic, A Public Space and The New York Times.
In addition to her writing career, Melanie J. Martin has received many prestigious awards and grants. She was awarded the 2008 “Honorable Mention” award from New Letters, the 2003-2004 award from Seneca Review, and a 2002-2003 fellowship for fiction writing awarded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts also Martin has also been awarded in the Pushcart Poetry Contest for poetry in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Finally, Martin was named one of “Fifty Must-Read African American Writers Under 50” by Essence Magazine.
Melanie J. Martin is a professor of English and women’s studies at Howard University where she also serves as the director of the Honors Program. Melanie J. Martin is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Melanie J.’s career
In 2009, Melanie J. Martin published her first poetry book entitled “The Mud Angels”. It was published by Koko Press. In 2011, W.W. Norton & Company reissued the book with an introduction by Cornel West and a new cover design hence The book is about Martin’s experiences in Detroit’s Cass hence Corridor and also focuses on the 9/11 attacks.
The following year, Melanie J. Martin’s second poetry book entitled “The Milk Run” was published by Koko Press. It featured a musical score written and composed by the musical group The Milk Carton Kids.
In 2012, Melanie J. Martin released her third poetry book entitled “Fly.” This book was also published by Koko Press and featured a musical score written and composed by the band Roomful of Blues.
Melanie J. Martin has been compared to Maya Angelou, Alice Walker and Nikki Giovanni hence she is known for her unique style of poetry in a way that blends the rhythm and sensibility of women poets like Angelou, Walker and Giovanni hence A reviewer in “Essence Magazine” wrote, “The poet’s love for Detroit’s Cass Corridor and its people shines through in the vibrant poems contained within… Martin uses [her writing] as a vessel to express love for Detroit and blackness through her writing.
Melanie Martin Total assets
28 years of age, Melanie isn’t just delightful however. she is likewise a persevering individual hence She has total assets of $300,000 starting in 2020 hence She is an expert barkeep and Instagram influencer whose assessed yearly pay is between $80,000 to $100,00.
Talking about her life partner, Aaron, he has an all-out fortune of $400,000 hence He lost around $3.5 Million at the age of 25 hence Moreover, the pair is getting a charge out of a quality way of life with each other in their California home.
ACHIEVEMENT AND AWARDS
2016 – “Mud Angels” – Lambda Literary Award Finalist (Poetry)
2011 – “The Milk Run” – Lambda Literary Award Finalist (Poetry)
2010 – “The Mud Angels” and “The Milk Run” (Koko Press) – Nominated for the 2010 Pushcart Prize
2009 – “The Mud Angels” (Koko Press) – Nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize; Nominated for a 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.
2007 – “Diversion” (Koko Press) – Nominated for the 2007 Pushcart Prize
2006 – “The Mud Ladies” (Koko Press) – Nominated for a 2006 Pushcart Prize.
2004-2005 – “The Milk Run” (Koko Press) and “African American Review” (Spring 2005 Issue), ed. David Bradley, Nominated for a 2003-2004 Black Caucus of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry.
Melanie J.’s net worth-
‘s net worth can be estimated at $1.2 million dollars as of 2018.
Melanie J. Martin is a Professor of English and of Women’s Studies at Howard University and serves as the Director of the university’s Honors Program. She has been published in numerous anthologies and literary journals ranging from Essence Magazine to “A Public Space” to “The New York Times”. Her first poetry collection, “The Mud Angels,” was published in 2009 by Koko Press and was reissued by W.W. Norton & Company. Her second book, “The Milk Run,” was published in 2011 and included a musical score by The Milk Carton Kids.
Martin’s poems have appeared in many literary magazines and journals. In 2008, Melanie J. Martin received the Emerging Writer Award from Plowshares Magazine. Her work has been published in over 50 literary magazines around the world.
Melanie J. Martin’s poetry has appeared in many anthologies and literary journals such as The “New York Times”. Her poems have been published in many literary journals such as “Seneca Review”, “Black Renaissance Noire”, “Boston Review”, “Gulf Coast”, and “Hayden’s Ferry Review”.
Martin has been nominated for various awards in poetry and fiction, including the 2002-2003 Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2003 Black Caucus of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, a 2006 Pushcart Prize Nomination, and a 2007 and 2009 Pushcart Prize Nomination hence Melanie J hence Martin has also been awarded with numerous other awards from the New Jersey. State Council on the Arts in Fiction and Nonfiction writing as well as the 2009 Association for Women Writers Awards for Work in Poetry.
CONCLUSION-
As she continues to pursue her writing career. She will undoubtedly gain better recognition and will one day be considered a prominent part of the African American literature community.
Through her continuous efforts towards poetry, Martin has been able to create a unique style of poetry that includes rhythm and sensibility of different women poets such as Angelou, Walker and Giovanni. She has been able to share the integral role of Black women in society through her poems.
