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Lisa Victoria Chapman Jones (born August 15, 1961)[1] is an American playwright, essayist, journalist, and memoirist.
Lisa Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 15, 1961 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University (B.A.) New York University (M.F.A.) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouse | Kenneth S. Brown |
| Parent(s) | Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka |
Jones grew up in New York City and Newark, New Jersey.[2] She is the daughter of poets Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones).[3] Jones graduated from Yale University and received a MFA in Film from New York University. She married Kenneth S. Brown in 2004 and their daughter was born in 2005. She is Jewish.[4]
Her sister, Kellie Jones,[1] is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University.[5] Jones has a half-brother, Newark, New Jersey, mayor Ras Baraka, and a half-sister, Dominique di Prima, from Amiri's relationship with di Prima's mother.[6][7]
Jones joined the staff of the Village Voice in 1984 and wrote for the paper for 15 years.[8] She was known for her "Skin Trade" columns in the Village Voice, a selection of which were published as a book, Bulletproof Diva,[9] in 1994.[10]
Jones published a memoir, Good Girl in a Bad Dress, in 1999.[11] She also co-wrote three books with Spike Lee, all companion books to his films: Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Daze,[12] published in 1988, Do the Right Thing, published in 1989,[13] and Mo' Better Blues,[14] published in 1990. Her essays have been widely anthologized. One anthology is Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair.[15]
Jones wrote the plays Carmella & King Kong and Combination Skin while involved with the Rodeo Caldonia, a feminist collective of African-American women artists.[16][17] Combination Skin went on to premiere at Company One in Hartford, CT, in 1992. The New York Times Theater review called her "a fresh talent" and praised her "all-consuming vision".[18] Combination Skin was anthologized in Contemporary Plays by Women of Color.[2] Jones also created three works for the New American Radio series of National Public Radio: Aunt Aida's Hand (1989), Stained (1991), and Ethnic Cleansing (1993).[19] Aunt Aida's Hand and Stained were collaborations with Alva Rogers, who was also a Rodeo Caldonia member.[17][19] In 1995, Jones and Rogers received a joint choreography and creator Bessie Award for their collaborative work.[20]
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