Biography
Type: Historian, novelist, poet.
Born: 8 July 1957
Died: 0
Born Jeffery J. Lloyd on 8 July 1957 Aberjhani grew up in Savannah, Georgia. Upon graduating from Savannah High School in 1975, he studied journalism, creative writing, and the American community at a variety of colleges: Savannah State College (now University); Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida; Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota; Temple University in Philadelphia; and the New College of California in San Francisco. He completed additional studies in journalism at the Fort Benjamin Harrison School of Journalism in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The author took the name Aberjhani as an adult: he says that it came to him in a dream. He continued writing while in the Air Force. He later served from 1994 until 2001 as co-editor of the Savannah Literary Journal. During the same period, he served as a literary reviewer for the Georgia Council for the Arts and held various position with the Poetry Society of Georgia, the oldest such literary organization in the state, and became well known as both a spoken word poet and published author. His national debut came in 1997 with ESSENCE Magazine's publication of his cover story/essay "This Mother’s Son." The magazine at the time commanded a circulation of 7 million readers. From 1999 to 2005 his poems appeared regularly in ESSENCE, making him one of the most well-known poets in the United States.
Awards and honors:
- 2006, Aberjhani won a Readers Poll: Savannah Poet and Spoken Word Artist of the Year Award, conducted by Connect Savannah.
- 2007, Accepted as member of The Academy of American Poets
- 2009, he was inducted into the Red Room Hall of Fame; Red Room is an online writers community and marketing site based in San Francisco.
- In 2011 he received a "Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait", or VIP DOT by the artist David Ilan.
- 2011,Listed as one of "The New Black" published in Best American Poetry, Diann Blakely author, June 13 online edition.
- 2012, Became a member of PEN American Center, an affiliate of the worldwide PEN International organization.
- 2014, Received and accepted invitation from LinkedIn administrators to join its selection of members and "influencers" publishing on the website.
- 2006, Aberjhani won a Readers Poll: Savannah Poet and Spoken Word Artist of the Year Award, conducted by Connect Savannah.
- 2007, Accepted as member of The Academy of American Poets
- 2009, he was inducted into the Red Room Hall of Fame; Red Room is an online writers community and marketing site based in San Francisco.
- In 2011 he received a "Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait", or VIP DOT by the artist David Ilan.
- 2011,Listed as one of "The New Black" published in Best American Poetry, Diann Blakely author, June 13 online edition.
- 2012, Became a member of PEN American Center, an affiliate of the worldwide PEN International organization.
- 2014, Received and accepted invitation from LinkedIn administrators to join its selection of members and "influencers" publishing on the website.
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