Two Black Gay Men Snag the Pulitzer Prize
What better news during these tough times than hearing that both Poet Jericho Brown and playwright Michael R. Jackson, two Black, gay men, won Pulitzer prizes on Monday, May 4? They were among the 22 other recipients to be awarded one of the most prestigious prizes for creative achievement in literature.
Brown, an Atlanta-based poet and Emory College Professor for Creative Writing, was given the award or his own poetry collection, The Tradition, his 2019 “collection of masterful lyrics” examining dangers Black men in America face on a daily basis. This includes offering difficult discussions of mass shootings by unarmed citizens by the police.
“I mean … I dunno … you have to admit, ‘Black, queer men win the Pulitzer for poetry and drama’ is a pretty funny sentence, right,” Brown tweeted in response to the news.
According to the Pulitzer Prize website, “The Tradition questions why and how we’ve become accustomed to terror: in the bedroom, the classroom, the workplace, and the movie theater. From mass shootings to rape to the murder of unarmed people by police, Brown interrupts complacency by locating each emergency in the garden of the body, where living things grow and wither—or survive.
Jackson, on the other hand, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his musical, A Strange Loop. Jackson became the first-ever musical theater writer to be given this award. His show follows Usher, a “black, queer writer working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical.”
Jackson, Louisana-born, is now based in New York City where the opening of his show premiered in June 2019 on NYC’s Mainstage Theater for Playwrights Horizon. Jackson was surprised by the honor of the award and tweeted, “Never in my wildest dreams. NEVER. IN MY. WILDEST. DREAMS. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey to such an incredible honor. I’m sure I’ll have more to say once I’ve caught my breath and looked at all these text messages and emails but for now, THANK YOU.”
According to the Pulitzer Prize website, “ Michael R. Jackson’s blistering, momentous new musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons—not least of which, the punishing thoughts in his own head—in an attempt to capture and understand his own strange loop.
As far as social media, the internet has been far from quiet in response to the awards. Larry Owen, the lead in A Strange Loop, posted a quick video of him reacting to the news. In the video, his head rolls back as he shouts, “thank you, God.” The next day, he posts a video of him conducting his virtual acceptance speech, which he delivers in song.
“STANDING OVATION FOR @TheLivingMJ WHO TRANSFORMS A WHITE, BLANK PAGE OR CANVAS INTO A WORLD FULL OF POSSIBILITIES,” said Owen in response to the news.
Twitter continues to explode with complements for the two Black, gay winners as they come to terms with the honor they were given this May.
For the full list of 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners, click here.
