Jayne Cortez was born in Arizona, grew up in California and lives in New York. She is the
author of ten books of poems and nine recordings. Her most recent book of poems is Somewhere
In Advance of Nowhere (Serpent’s Tail/High Risk Books). Her previous collections include
Mouth on Paper and Coagulations, and with her band, The Firespitters,
she has recorded six CD’s including the critically acclaimed Cheerful & Optimistic. Her
latest CD recording Find Your Own Voice was released by Harmolodic/Verve/Polygram. Jayne
Cortez has performed, lectured, and taught at universities, museums, and festivals, including
the Museum of Modern Art, UNESCO in Paris, the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Fourth World Congress
on Women, and many others. Her poems have been translated
into twenty-eight languages. Her awards include Fellowships from the National Endowment for
the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, the International African Festival Award, and the
American Book Award.
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