Roxanne Gay is an American writer, editor, professor, and commentator. In July 2016, she and Yona Harvey, a poet, were named as writers for World of Wakanda for Marvel Comics. Gay and Harvey are the first black women to be named as lead writers for Marvel. The comic is a spinoff of Black Panther and is being hailed for its outstanding depiction of LGBTQ characters. Black Panther: World of Wakanda is a love story about two former members of Black Panther’s female security team, Ayo and Aneka. Here’s five things you didn’t know about Roxane Gay.
1. Birth Date/Place
Roxane Gay was born on October 28, 1974 in Omaha, Nebraska. She is of Haitian descent.
2. Education
Gay went to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She began her undergraduate at Yale and completed it later at Nebraska. Gay acquired her MA in Creative Writing at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She also earned a PhD from Michigan Technological University in Communication.
3. Professor
After receiving her PhD, she began teaching at Eastern Illinois University as an assistant English professor. At that time, she was also writing for ”Bluestem” magazine. In addition, she founded Tiny Hardcore Press. Gay taught at the university until 2014 when she took a job as associate professor of creative writing at Purdue University.
4. Writer
As a writer, it has been said that her writing is direct and simple, yet neither sterile or cold. She encounters the difficult and complex issues of privilege and identity, yet her writing is insightful and accessible. The following are some of her published works:
- An Untamed State- Gay’s debut novel was published in 2014, receiving critical acclaim. This novel is about a Haitian-American woman, kidnapped and held for ransom. The themes that are explored in this book are of the immigrant experience, family, sexual violence, privilege, and race.
- Bad Feminist- This is a collection of essays which was also released in 2014, again to much acclaim, becoming a ”New York Times” best-seller. The essays focus on both political and cultural issues. In an interview, Gay said that she had tried to show in these essays how feminism had influenced her life, whether for better or worse.
- World of Wakanda- Spinoff of the Marvel Comics’ Black Panther about the love story of two former member’s of his security force. Gay and co-writer Harvey are the first black women to write lead for Marvel.
- Difficult Women- Published in 2017, this book is an assemblage of fictional short stories. The stories are about women who have lives that are outside of society’s normal spectrum, each telling a story about a different character and her experiences. In addition, each woman is seen as difficult, pushing the boundaries of what society describes as the perfect woman.
- Hunger- This is Gay’s memior, released in June 2017 to critical acclaim. It’s a tell-all about her experiences with body image, food, and building a positive connection with food.
- Gay has other writing projects as well, with a new book coming out in 2018.
5. Sexual Orientation/Personal
Gay is openly bisexual. She began writing when she was a teenager and she feels much of her work has been influenced by her experience of sexual assault when she was only twelve years old.
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