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Mari Evans (born July 16, 1923 in Toledo, Ohio) is an African-American poet. She is currently residing in Indianapolis.She attended the University of Toledo, then pursued a teaching career. She lectured on literature and writing; she produced, wrote and directed the television program called "The Black Experience." She is best known for many of her poems. One, called "When In Rome", is taught in many high school and college English classes. The poem ends, "I'm tired of eatin' what they eats in Rome..", which is how the poem received its famous title. It is a dialogue poem, between Mattie and her possible slave owner, offering her unfamiliar foods in the pantry. She is also well known for the line, "I have never been contained except I made the prison." Other books of poems and poetry include: Night Star 1973-1978 (1981) Where is the Music(1968) A Dark and Splendid Mass Harlem River Press (1992) I am a Black Woman(1970) Childrens Books include Dear Corinne, Tell Somebody! Love, Annie: A book about secrets (1999) Jim Flying High(1979) J.D.(1973) Singing Black: Alternative Nursery Rhymes for Children (1998) Rap Stories (1974) Plays include Eye a musical (Their Eyes Were Watching God) (1979) River of My Song(1977) In addition to writing poetry, Evans has written many articles and essays, as well as children's books and plays. She has been a professor at several universities, including Cornell University and Indiana University Spelman College,Purdue University,State of New York at Albany, University of Miami at Coral Gables, and St. Louis. In 1997, she was celebrated with her photo on a Ugandan postage stamp. She was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2002 for the liner notes she wrote for The Long Road Back To Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music. · References [1]poets.org [2] [3]
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