Shirley Bradley LeFlore

SHIRLEY BRADLEY LEFLORE (1940-2019) was an oral poet, performance artist and retired adjunct professor of women’s and ethnic literature. An original member of the renowned Black Artist Group (BAG) of St. Louis, LeFlore performed her poetry nationally and internationally. She was one of few poets with a vast background in collaborative/staged poetry with musicians, dancers, and visual artists. She blended the vocal texture of her poetry with the music giants of jazz, blues, gospel/spirituals and classical music, including The World Jazz Saxophone Quartet and woodwind virtuoso J.D. Parran. She also worked with the New York City-based music group Spirit Stage, created the duo Word and Wind, and collaborated on Hammiet Bluiet’s BBQ Band recordings.

LeFlore’s poetry and writings have appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Spirit & Flame, Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry (1997), ALOUD: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café (1995), Black American Literature Forum: Henry Dumas, Vol. 22, No. 2 (1988), Turn in the River: Celebrate Issue for Gwendolyn Brooks (1988), and SHEBA REVIEW: Anthology of Missouri Women Writers (1987). LeFlore has served on the editorial board of RIVER STYX: Literary & Arts Magazine (1975-1988). She was a producer of phatLiterature, a multi-ethnic/cultural arts literary series for The IAAS, where she presented the works of literary/poetry legends Gwendolyn Brooks and Margaret Walker.

Brassbones and Rainbows (2013) was LeFLore’s first collection of poetry. Rivers of Women, The Play (2013)  is a collaborative effort with Michael J. Bracey, an award-winning photographer based in Maywood, Illinois, that was produced and directed by National Bestselling author and producer, Lyah Beth LeFlore in 2013.