Hattie Gossett

Hattie Gossett (born 11 April 1942)^[1] is an African-American feminist playwright, poet, and magazine editor.^[2] Her work focuses on bolstering the self-esteem of young black women.^[3]

Hattie Gossett
Born	(1942-04-11) April 11, 1942 (age 82) New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation(s)	Playwright, poet, editor
Notable work	Presenting...Sister Noblues (1988)

Biography

Born in New Jersey, Gossett gained a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 1993, where she was a Yip Harburg Fellow.^[2] She was a David Randolph Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at The New School in 2001.^[4]

Gossett was "involved in the planning stages" of Essence magazine,^[5] which was first published in 1970, and she was an early participant in the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press collective founded in 1980 by Audre Lorde and Barbara Smith.^[6] Gossett was also a staff editor with True Story, Redbook, McCall's and black theater magazines, and subsequently taught and did workshops on writing, black literature, and black music at Rutgers University, SUNY Empire State College, Oberlin College, and elsewhere.^[2] At Rutgers, she and Barbara Masekela created one of the first courses on writings by African-American and African women.^[7]

Gossett's poetry collection Presenting...Sister Noblues was published by Firebrand Books in 1988. Her poem "between a rock and a hard place" is incorporated into the dance work Shelter by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, as performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater beginning in 1995.^[8] Gossett contributed a slave narrative style reading to the Andrea E. Woods dance Rememorabilia, Scraps From Out a Tin Can, Everybody Has Some.^[9] She is also the author of the book the immigrant suite: hey xenophobe! Who you calling foreigner? (2007).^[10]

Her work has appeared in many publications, including Artforum, Black Scholar, The Village Voice, Conditions, Essence, Jazz Spotlite News, Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, This Bridge Called My Back, and Daughters of Africa.^[2][11]

Publications

• Presenting...Sister Noblues, Firebrand Books, 1988, ISBN 978-0932379498
• the immigrant suite: hey xenophobe! who you calling foreigner?, Seven Stories Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1583227787

References

1. Gossett, Hattie (1998). Presenting-- Sister Noblues. Firebrand books. pp. 9. ISBN 0932379508.
2. "Biography of Feminist Poet Hattie Gossett". The Feminist eZine. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
3. Hattie Gossett, "21st century black warrior wimmins chant for strengthening the nerves", The Feminist eZine. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
4. "In the Community: The David Randolph Distinguished Artist-in-Residence Program". The St. Cecelia Chorus. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
5. Evelyn C. White (2004). Alice Walker: A Life. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-05891-3.
6. Alexis De Veaux (2004). Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-01954-3.
7. "An interview with Hattie Gossett", The Feminist eZine. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
8. Jennifer Dunning (December 8, 1995). "DANCE REVIEW; Men Replace Women In a Classic Ailey Work". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
9. Jennifer Dunning (February 9, 1999). "DANCE IN REVIEW; The Poignant Heritage Of a Black Family". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
10. hattie gossett, the immigrant suite: hey xenophobe! who you calling foreigner?, Seven Stories Press, 2007. Amazon.com.
11. Margaret Busby, Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent (1992), London: Vintage, 1993, p. 550.

External links

• Hattie Gossett page at The Feminist eZine.