Lenard Moore


Lenard Duane Moore in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
He is a writer of more than 20 forms of poetry, drama, essays, and literary criticism, and has been writing and publishing haiku for more than 20 years.
In 2008, Moore became the first Southerner and the first African American to be elected as president of the Haiku Society of America. He is executive chairman of the North Carolina Haiku Society, founder and executive director of the Carolina African American Writers' Collective, and cofounder of Washington Street Writers' Group. He has won the Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award for his contribution to the fine arts of North Carolina.

Poetry

Moore's poetry has been translated into several languages. He is the author of:
Moore has taught workshops, served on literary panels, and given hundreds of readings at schools, festivals, colleges, and universities, including National Black Arts Festival, Zora Neale Hurston Festival, People’s Poetry Gathering, Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, and The Library of Congress.

Awards

Features

His poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in more than 350 publications, such as:
Moore's poetry has appeared in more than forty anthologies, including:
He is coeditor of the 2007 Haiku North America conference anthology, titled Dandelion Wind.

Electronic media

Moore has been featured on several radio and television programs, including:
He is a copresenter in An Evening with Sonia Sanchez, African Americans Writing Haiku, and African American Quilts and the Women Who Make Them.

Education

Moore earned his M.A. degree in English/African American Literature from North Carolina's A&T State University, and his B.A. degree with Magna Cum Laude honors from Shaw University. He was also educated at Coastal Carolina Community College and the University of Maryland.
He is currently an assistant professor of English at Mount Olive College. He is a former adjunct professor at Shaw University. He has also taught at North Carolina State University-Raleigh, N.C., A&T State University-Greensboro, and Enloe High School. He is a former writer-in-residence for United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County.

Background

Moore worked with his great-grandmother on a farm while growing up. He has lived in South Carolina, Virginia, California, and Germany, where he served in the U.S. Army. He writes about family, jazz, identity, and global issues. Moore is working on two poetry collections, a novel, short stories, a play, and literary criticism.