Raised in Washington DC, some of her earliest work reflected the troubled times of the 1960s and the rebellions that ripped through the District of Columbia following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Clarke is the author of four collections of poetry from Firebrand Books: Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women (originally self-published in 1981); Living as a Lesbian, Humid Pitch and Experimental Love.

She also published After Mecca---Women Poets and the Black Arts Movement (Rutgers University Press), the first study of its kind in a field that traditionally only recognizes Black male poets; Days of Good Looks {Carroll & Graf Publishing), a collection of poems and essays and Corridors of Nostalgia a collection of poetry.

Cheryl Clarke has served on the editorial collective of Conditions , an early lesbian publication and has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including: Home Girls, The Callaloo Journal and Black Scholar.

A graduate of Howard University, Clarke later received her Masters and Ph.D in English from Rutgers University. This presaged a long relationship with the University where she has taught and worked. She is currently on the graduate faculty of the Rutgers University Department of Women and Gender Studies and the Director of Diverse Community Affairs and Lesbian/Gay Concerns. She presently serves as Dean of Students on the Livingston Campus at Rutgers University.

Clarke is a member of the Board of Directors of the Newark Pride Alliance, which is a not-for-profit dedicated to LGBTQ advocacy and programming in the city of Newark, New Jersey.

Rutgers University