CHERYL  BOYCE  TAYLOR

DATE OF BIRTH: ...
PLACE OF BIRTH: ..., Trinidad
EDUCATION:
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  • CAREER:                                      Born in Trinidad and raised in New York City since the age of 13, Cheryl Boyce Taylor has been writing poetry since her son Malik was born. As a young wife and mother, it was often difficult to discuss the hardships of her new role as parent with her family. The world was in the throes of the black power movement, the women’s movement, and the war in Vietnam. Such a different world, from her carnival and coconut-water Trinidad. Even though her son was an infant, she worried about the life he would have as a black man in racially divided America. After hearing Nikki Giovanni read, Boyce Taylor began writing poetry to make sense of her life, and this new world she was attempting to shape for her young son. Taylor’s work has taken her around the world, to Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. She has performed at some of New York City’s hottest venues, such as Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, Aaron Davis Hall, The Bowery Poetry Club, Lincoln Center, and Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park for Shadow, one of Trinidad’s most talented Calypsonians. In 1994, Boyce Taylor was the first Caribbean woman to present her work in Trinidadian dialect at the National Poetry Slam. Along with her New York team, they won third place. She has toured the country as a road poet with Lollapolooza, and recently performed for Mamapolooza in New York City. In 2010, she was the editor of the Calypso Muse Press and curated the Calypso Muse salon. Her publications include:
    • Raw Air (1997)
    • Night When Moon Follows (1999)
    • Mango Pretty (2004)
    • Convincing the Body (2005)
    Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit