James Emanuel - Life

Life

Born in Nebraska in 1921, Emanuel was raised in the state. He spent his early years in the western United States where he worked at a variety of jobs. At age twenty he joined the United States Army and served as confidential secretary to the Assistant Inspector General of the U.S. Army Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. After his discharge, he did his undergraduate work at Howard University and obtained graduate degrees from Northwestern University (M.A.) and Columbia University (Ph.D.). He then moved to New York city where he taught at the City College of New York (CUNY), where he is credited with introducing the study of African-American poetry. Emanuel also worked as editor, with his first editorial project being the publication of a collection of poetry by Langston Hughes, whom Emanuel considered his mentor.

Emanuel has also taught at the University of Toulouse (as a Fulbright scholar in 1968-1969), at the University of Grenoble, and at the University of Warsaw. He currently lives in Paris, France.

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