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Aziza Barnes

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Aziza Barnes
Barnes in 2013
Born
Aziza Danielle Bailey Barnes

(1992-10-00)October 1992
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 2024(2024-12-15) (aged 32)
EducationNew York University (BFA)
University of Mississippi (MFA)
Occupations
  • Poet
  • screenwriter
  • playwright
Notable workBLKS
TitleFellow, Cave Canem Foundation

Aziza Danielle Bailey Barnes (October 1992 – December 15, 2024) was an American poet, screenwriter and playwright.[1] Barnes frequently performed slam poetry and performed at the Da Poetry Lounge, Urban Word NYC, PBS News Hour and Nuyoricans Poets Café.[2] They wrote for television shows, including Snowfall and Teenage Bounty Hunters.[3]

Early life and education

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Barnes was born in Los Angeles in October 1992.[4] They went to undergrad at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[5] They received their MFA from the University of Mississippi.[6]

Career

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Barnes was the author of the chapbook me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun (2013), which won an Exploding Pinecone Prize from Button Poetry.[7] Their full-length collection, i be but i ain’t (2016), won a Pamet River Prize from YesYes Books.[8] They were the co-founder of the Poetry Gods podcast and the co-founder of The Conversation Literary Festival.[9][10] Barnes wrote the play BLKS, which was played at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.[11] Their debut novel, The Blind Pig, was published by Not A Cult on October 14, 2019.[12] Barnes wrote the play Pues Nada (2020).[13] Barnes also wrote for MEL.[14]

BLKS

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BLKS is the story of four black millennial friends, Octavia, June, Ry and Imani, who share a New York City apartment.[15] The story is a "day in the life" style of work and was called "comedic social realism".[16] The production was compared to the drama series Girls.[17] BLKS was originally Barnes' final thesis project at NYU.[18]

Actresses Nora Carroll, Leea Ayers, Danielle Davis and Celeste M. Cooper performed in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company rendition of BLKS.[16][19] The show was directed by Nataki Garrett. The show debuted on December 18, 2017, and ran through January 28, 2018.[19]

BLKS won the 2020 Antonyo Award in the Best Play category.[20] Barnes was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for the play that same year.[21]

Barnes made their acting debut in June 2024 with their play FKA I Am a Bad Blk Person, which is a sequel to BLKS.[22]

Television

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Barnes wrote for the series Snowfall, Teenage Bounty Hunters, Rap Sh!t, and the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.[3] At the time of their death, Barnes was working on an HBO adaptation of the novel The Vanishing Half.[13]

Personal life and death

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Barnes was black and identified as queer.[16] They were from Los Angeles and lived in Oxford, Mississippi.[2][23] They also lived in Bedford–Stuyvesant.[24] Barnes was born with a polycystic ovary and as such grew facial hair. Barnes used they/their/them pronouns.[16]

Barnes died by suicide on December 15, 2024, at the age of 32.[3]

Bibliography

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  • Barnes, Aziza (January 1, 2013). me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun. Exploding Pinecone Press. Button Poetry. ISBN 978-09896415-0-0. Published as an e-book by Button Poetry. (January 4, 2020. ASIN B01MZC3LXJ, ISBN 978-1-943735-02-0.)
  • Barnes, Aziza (June 1, 2016). i be, but i ain't. Portland, Oregon: YesYes Books. ISBN 1936919397, 978-1936919390. OCLC 953984258.
  • Barnes, Aziza (October 14, 2019). The Blind Pig. Not a Cult (First ed.). ISBN 1945649321, 978-1945649325. ASIN 1945649321. EAN 9781945649325.
  • Barnes, Aziza (January 1, 2020). BLKS. Dramatists Play Service. ISBN 0822240696, 978-0822240693. ASIN 0822240696.
  • Barnes, Aziza. The Blind Pig (Dog-eared Edition). Not a Cult.

Awards and fellowships

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References

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  1. ^ Barnes, Aziza (October 9–10, 2017). "5 Poems". PANK Magazine. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Alexis P. (June 3, 2017). "A Queer Black Poet's Quest for Liberation". Vice. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Garner, Glenn (December 21, 2024). "Aziza Barnes Dies: 'Snowfall' & 'A Knight of Seven Kingdoms' Writer Was 32". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Piña, Christy (December 21, 2024). "Aziza Barnes, 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' and 'Snowfall' Writer, Dies at 32". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Lichtenstein, Jesse (September 2018). "How Poetry Came to Matter Again". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Aziza Barnes". Academy of American Poets. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "Aziza Barnes". Poetry Foundation. August 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "i be, but i ain't by Aziza Barnes". YesYes Books. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  9. ^ Lewis, Michelle (November 25, 2016). "The Vernacular Music of Aziza Barnes' i be but i ain't". Electric Literature. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Next Generation of Black Poets: Cave Canem Fellows and Friends". Center for African American Poetry and Poetics. University of Pittsburgh. June 17–18, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  11. ^ McPhee, Ryan (April 9, 2018). "Robert O'Hara Will Direct New York Premiere of Aziza Barnes' BLKS". Playbill. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "AZIZA BARNES discusses their debut novel THE BLIND PIG, with YESIKA SALGADO". Skylight Books. October 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Aziza Barnes". Contemporary Playwrights of Color. Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Retrieved December 22, 2024 – via Google Sites.
  14. ^ "Aziza Barnes, Author at MEL Magazine". MEL. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Lola, Candice (January 12, 2018). "Aziza Barnes' "BLKS" Delivers a Gorgeous Snapshot of Real Life That You'd Better Not Miss". HuffPost. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d Hayford, Justin (December 22, 2017). "Aziza Barnes's BLKS needs to take itself more srsly". Chicago Reader. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  17. ^ Vitello, Barbara (December 20, 2017). "20-somethings negotiate friendship, intimacy in Steppenwolf's uneven 'BLKS'". Daily Herald. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Schulman, Michael (April 11, 2019). "BLKS". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Tube, Stage (November 22, 2017). "VIDEO: Behind the Scenes with BLKS Playwright Aziza Barnes". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  20. ^ Appler, Michael (June 20, 2020). "Audra McDonald, LaChanze & Celia Rose Gooding Win at Broadway Black's Inaugural Antonyo Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  21. ^ "2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations". Ucross Foundation. April 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "Not A Moment, But A Movement Festival". Center Theatre Group. June 22–24, 2024. Archived from the original on October 5, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Huynh, Lynn. "Issue Twenty: A Conversation with Aziza Barnes". The Adroit Journal. ISSN 2577-9427. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  24. ^ Barnes, Aziza (June 17, 2015). "Six Micros by Aziza Barnes". The Offing. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Phillips, Xan. "The Conversation". Winter Tangerine. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  26. ^ Barnes, Aziza (2015). "My Dad Asks "How Come Black People Can't Just Write About Flowers?"". Winter Tangerine. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  27. ^ "Awards & Special Events". New York University College of Arts & Science. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  28. ^ "Neyat Yohannes on "i be, but i ain't," by Aziza Barnes". VAGABOND CITY. February 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  29. ^ "Voices of Bettering American Poetry 2015 — Lauren Russell". VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. 2015. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  30. ^ Dunn, Jack (December 21, 2024). "Aziza Barnes, Writer for 'Snowfall' and 'Teenage Bounty Hunter,' Dies at 32". Variety. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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