BURNS, Khephra 1950-

PERSONAL: Born October 2, 1950, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Isham "Rusty" (a retired travel services manager) and Treneta Cecelia (a retired systems analyst; maiden name, Davis) Burns; married Susan L. Taylor (a writer and editor), August 19, 1989; children: Shana Nequai Taylor. Education: MoorPark Community College, A.A. (liberal arts), 1970; University of California—Santa Barbara, B.A. (English), 1972. Politics: Independent. Religion: "Life." Hobbies and other interests: Art (mixed media), music (tenor saxophone and flute).

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Taylor Burns, Inc., 1 Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023. Agent—Faith Childs Literary Agency, 132 West 22nd St., New York, NY 10011.

CAREER: Writer and editor. Golden State Mutual Life Insurance, salesman, 1974-76; freelance writer, 1978—; musician in various bands, 1978; WNET-13, New York, NY, writer and associate producer, 1978-80; RTP, Inc., speech writer and publicist, 1980-81; freelance editor, 1981—.

MEMBER: Writers Guild of America East, Authors Guild, Authors League of America, One Hundred Black Men, National Brotherhood of Skiers, Sigma Pi Phi, Alpha Sigma Boule.

AWARDS, HONORS: Award of Excellence, Communications Excellence to Black Audiences, 1981; Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, 1996, for Black Stars in Orbit: NASA's African American Astronauts.

WRITINGS:

(With William Miles) Black Stars in Orbit: NASA's African-American Astronauts, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 1995.

(Editor, with wife, Susan L. Taylor) Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Also author of screenplay, Marie Laveau, and musical, Stackalee. Writer of television programs Black Champions, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1986, and Essence: The Television Program, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), 1986-87. Cowriter of television programs, including Black Stars in Orbit, PBS, 1990; (and coproducer) The Essence Awards, Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS), 1991, 1992, Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), 1993-2001; Images & Realities: African Americans, NBC, 1992-94; (senior writer) Triple Threat, Black Entertainment Television (BET), 1992; and The Power of One, American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC), 1997.

Contributor to books, including African Americans: Voices of Triumph, Time-Life (New York, NY), 1994. Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Art & Auction, Essence, Omni, and Swing Journal. Author of "Legacy" (column), Essence, 1992-94. Author of poem "Essence Twenty-Five." Editor, Boule Journal. Also author of liner notes for recordings of jazz artists, including albums by Miles Davis and Nancy Wilson.

SIDELIGHTS: As a journalist and writer/producer of television specials and documentaries, Khephra Burns has been able to share his wide-ranging interests with a broad audience. His efforts extended to children's media when he and coproducer William Miles translated their popular 1990 PBS documentary Black Stars in Orbit into a book for young readers. An inspirational look at the black pilots who, since the formation of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, have gone on to achieve success and acceptance in the U.S. space program, Black Stars in Orbit: NASA's African American Astronauts has been praised by reviewers. Calling the book "a stirring portrait of a remarkable group of individuals," a Kirkus Reviews commentator noted that it not only provides a history of African Americans in the U.S. space program, but also "shows how the space race can be viewed as a paradigm of the civil rights struggle." Carolyn Phelan of Booklist found Black Stars in Orbit "an interesting look at an untapped topic," while School Library Journal contributor Margaret M. Hagel asserted that coauthors Burns and Miles "tell the compelling and at times horrifying story in a full and lively manner."

Raised in Compton, California, Burns found inspiration in the lives of his parents. "Between the ages of eight and fifteen, when I wasn't in school, I spent all my time with my father at Compton Airport," he once recalled, "working on planes and learning to fly." The author's father was a Tuskegee Airman, one of the famed black fighter pilots of World War II. Still working in the field of aviation—as a flight instructor, charter pilot, and stunt pilot for air shows, television, and feature films—Burns's father's "notoriety planted the seed that would inspire me to achieve something worthy of recognition," according to the author. His mother, who worked as a corporate systems analyst, was also exemplary; she was, in the early 1960s, "one of only a handful of women pilots in the United States."

A self-proclaimed "aspiring jazz musician" then in his early twenties, Burns "encountered two writers whose influence marked a turning point in my life: Michael Butler, who is known mostly among a small circle of artists and intellectuals in the East Bay area of San Francisco, and whose breadth of knowledge and poetic voice have left a lasting impression on me; and Ilunga Adell, a pioneering young television writer who, by example, showed me that it was possible to make a living as a writer."

Burns's first large-scale writing project was a screenplay titled Marie Laveau after the legendary Voodoo Queen of pre-Civil War New Orleans. The work attracted the interest of several New York producers, "including singer Harry Belafonte, who took a one-year option on the story and subsequently commissioned me to write Stackalee, a stage drama with music." Burns has since authored or coauthored several television productions, including the annual Essence Awards, as well as several other programs that celebrate the diverse accomplishments of African Americans.

"To make a living while waiting for these projects to come to fruition, I wrote speeches for corporate executives, advertising copy, press releases, articles for teen fanzines, even bios for people seeking employment," Burns once explained. He also wrote scripts for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black History and Culture's annual Heritage Celebration at the New York Public Library, as well as for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's annual National Equal Justice Awards, the Manhattan Borough President's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health's Annual Sports Ball, and several Carnegie Hall productions. In addition, Burns has authored the column "Legacy," a cultural commentary published in Essence magazine. Several of his columns have been excerpted in published anthologies and quoted by other writers. His poem "Essence Twenty-Five," recited by television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Essence Awards, has since been performed by small theater groups around the United States.

In an examination of the spirituality of worldwide cultures, Burns and his wife, Susan L. Taylor, compiled Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives. In this book, the duo present a fusion of over one hundred writings on spirituality, emotion, devotion, and other related topics. Burns and Taylor also impart an introductory essay explaining their selections for Confirmation, as well as a divulgence of their own spiritual lives. Included in Confirmation are passages from religious texts of varying beliefs and cultures, including the Bible, the Koran, Bhagavad Gita, and African proverbs. Contributors include Maya Angelou, Deepak Chopra, Black Elk, and Lao-Tzu, making this collection one of the most diverse and comprehensive examinations of spirituality yet to be published.

Burns next wrote a children's book, Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, detailing the life of the legendary ruler of Mali, Kankan Musa. Burns traces Mansa Musa's life from his adolescent abduction by slave raiders to his worldwide journeys and perils, concluding with his eventual return to his kingdom, where he gains the throne and becomes a legendary king. School Library Journal contributor Ann Welton remarked that the book is "well told, with excellent use of pacing and suspense." Welton, like many other reviewers, also praised the work of award-winning illustrators Diane and Leo Dillon, who joined Burns to create a detailed portrayal of this historical tale. "This yarn would hold attention on its own," Welton voiced, "but the breathtaking layout of the book greatly enhances the narrative." Some reviewers, such as Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg, were not as enthused by Burns's prose. "The text's density, the plodding story line, and the stilted prose . . . will stop many readers," Engberg commented. She did conclude, however, that through the story, children will gain a better understanding of the Mali Muslims and their history in North Africa. Most reviewers commended Burns and the Dillons for Mansa Musa. Horn Book magazine contributor Anita L. Burkham called the book "part coming-of-age tale, part cautionary tale, and part fairy tale," stating, "Burns's story moves in a languid, magical atmosphere."

"Writing, for me, is a means of sharing with others information I have run across in my researches that I have found fascinating, educational, inspiring, and fun," Burns once noted. "Music, especially the rhythms and idiomatic nuances of jazz, informs my writing style at its best. I love language and what it is capable of, and writing gives me an opportunity to experiment with communicating on several levels simultaneously. It is the closest thing to real magic that I have found. But," he added, "it's also an 8 A.M.-to-midnight, seven-day-a-week obsession."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 1995, Carolyn Phelan, review of Black Stars in Orbit: NASA's African-American Astronauts, p. 1076; December 1, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, p. 642.

BookPage, January, 2002, review of Mansa Musa, p. 31.

Book World, February 10, 2002, review of Mansa Musa, p. 11.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February, 1995, p. 193; December, 2001, review of Mansa Musa, p. 134.

Children's Bookwatch, September, 2001, review of Mansa Musa, p. 6.

Ebony, December, 2001, review of Mansa Musa.

Essence, February, 1995, review of Black Stars in Orbit, p. 118.

Horn Book, November-December, 2001, Anita L. Burkham, review of Mansa Musa, p. 733.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 1995, review of Black Stars in Orbit, p. 222; September 15, 2001, review of Mansa Musa, p. 1355.

New York Times Book Review, November 18, 2001, Laura Shapiro, review of Mansa Musa, p. 27.

Publishers Weekly, October 22, 2001, review of Mansa Musa, p. 74.

School Library Journal, February, 1995, Margaret M. Hagel, review of Black Stars in Orbit, p. 115; October, 2001, Ann Welton, review of Mansa Musa, p. 106.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 1994, p. 294.