Biography in Brief
"...a poet, a priestess, a force of nature, of anger and love..."
-Jan Worth-Nelson | East Village Magazine describes Flint,
Michigan’s First Poet Laureate, Semaj Brown
Semaj Brown
Semaj Brown is Flint, Michigan's inaugural Poet Laureate, lauded for her richly colored metaphors and Afrofuturistic performances which derive from her integrative practice. Ms. Brown’s ability to blend poetry with various analytical and creative disciplines like science, theater, and math is mind-expanding. The laureate’s practice is an amalgam threaded with science and ecology; three distinct areas illuminate her work:
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Education, Literacy & The Literary
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Health & Wellness via Plant based Lifestyle
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Performance & Theater
She utilizes poetry as a technology, a tool of transformation best exhibited during her theatrical productions, and her acclaimed workshops/lectures. Her work dissolves obsolete paradigms and synthesizes new philosophies, new approaches to understanding the world.
Ms. Brown is the recipient of the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship Award, and the 2024 Poetry Foundation Poetry Programs, Partnerships and Innovation Award (READ DEAR SEMAJ BROWN LETTERS HERE). Brown is also the founding director of Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™ (BDCV), an international integrative-literacy, health & wellness education platform. BDCV is based on Semaj Brown's poem "Black Dandelion" which was featured in "Black Enterprise" twice for its innovative approach to literacy, wellness and healing. AT&T licensed a video clip of Semaj reading “Black Dandelion” for a national television commercial in celebration of Generational Black Excellence for the Dream in Black African American Afro-futuristic Lifestyle Platform (MORE MEDIA HERE).
BDCV has been engaged from the 3rd grade to graduate studies, to communities at large. Students, professors, artists, and learners respond to the poem by creating art, writing poetry, and papers, creating musical compositions, and science projects. BDCV Enthusiasts converge in April for the annual BDCV Forum. BDCV is endorsed by MCTE, Michigan Council of Teachers of English where it was launched in 2022 during Semaj Brown’s luncheon Keynote address at the MCTE Centennial Conference.
In addition to her roles as a poet and educator, Brown is also an essayist, university lecturer, playwright, and editor. She builds poetry installations in museums, libraries, schools, and in the private sector. She is the author of the poetry/prose memoir, “Bleeding Fire! Tap the Eternal Spring of Regenerative Light,” published by Broadside Lotus Press. She also crafted a delightful vegetarian story cookbook and lyrical CD, "Feasts and Fables from the Planted Kingdom."
Except from "City Limit" Documentary, Mott Community College/ Students asked Semaj Brown “What is she excited about?”
Brown has written, directed, and performed in three theatrical Productions: "Onion Revolt: A Healthy Comedy," where she played 14 different characters on the Bower Theater stage. "By Ocean By Fire." and "Bleeding Fire," 2017 and 2019, respectively debuted at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History to standing room only standing ovations. In 2024, she was asked to perform at the historic Capitol Theater. She performed a stage rendition of the poem “Black Dandelion” accompanied by Al Nur African Dance Troupe.
Brown's innovative teaching method, PSL/Poetry as a Second Language: The Semajian Method™, was first awarded by The Academy of American Poets. She was also awarded the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative Grant for Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™.
Through her efforts, the BDCV platform expanded into a successful literacy month that reached communities in Michigan, California, and West Africa. Semaj Brown’s achievements were further celebrated when April 7, 2025, was named by Mayoral proclamation, “Semaj Brown Day” in Flint, Michigan. Brown is married to James Brown, MD, her partner in life, creativity, and service. She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc
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