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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize the work and accomplishments
4of Tyehimba Jess; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Tyehimba Jess grew up in Detroit, Michigan and
6started writing poetry at the age of 16; when he was 18, he won
7second prize for poetry at an NAACP academic competition; he
8enrolled in the University of Chicago to study Public Policy;
9however, when taking classes with poet and scholar Sterling
10Plumpp, who became his mentor, he realized his real passion was
11for poetry; he graduated from the University of Chicago in 1991
12with a bachelor's degree in public policy; he earned his Master
13of Fine Arts from New York University in 2004; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Tyehimba Jess is the author of two books of
15poetry, Leadbelly and Olio; his inspiration for writing stems
16from his desire to convey historical themes through expression
17and performance; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Tyehimba Jess has won many awards, including the
192017 Pulitzer Prize for Olio, an Illinois Arts Council
20Fellowship in Poetry, the Chicago Sun-Times Poetry Award, and a
21Whiting Fellowship; his work has appeared in Soul Fires: Young
22Black Men on Love and Violence, Obsidian III: Literature in the

 

 

HR0815- 2 -LRB100 17986 ALS 33171 r

1African Diaspora, and Power Lines: Ten Years of Poetry from
2Chicago's Guild Complex; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Tyehimba Jess teaches poetry and fiction at the
4College of Staten Island of the City University of New York and
5is the faculty adviser for Caesura, the college's literary arts
6magazine; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
8HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9recognize the contributions Tyehimba Jess has made to the
10literary world and to the people of Illinois, and we
11congratulate him on his 2017 Pulitzer Prize; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to Tyehimba Jess as a symbol of our esteem and
14respect.