Morgan(-Murray), Joan

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MORGAN(-MURRAY), Joan

PERSONAL: Married; children: Sulé. Education: Wesleyan University, 1987.

ADDRESSES: Home—Brooklyn, NY. Agent—c/o Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer, editor, and journalist. Previously executive editor, currently editor at large, Essence magazine; Vibe, staff writer; Spin, contributing editor and columnist.

WRITINGS:

When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life As a Hip-Hop Feminist, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times, Spin, and Village Voice.

SIDELIGHTS: Joan Morgan is a writer who specializes in writing about race and gender. Her book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life As a Hip-Hop Feminist grew out of her longtime interest in feminist ideas. Morgan told Brian Peterson of Chance 22 that her book was "a culmination of five or six years of articles."

Morgan never planned to become a writer. She considered going to law school but eventually rejected the idea. She taught English and tried to become an actor, but there were few good roles available for African-American women. She tried writing and found that it fascinated her. She told Peterson, "Though it hasn't always been easy, I've been fortunate to have made a living as a freelance writer, and I've always been able to control my voice, and reflect who I am, and my beliefs."

When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost explores the subculture that has evolved from hip-hop music, ranging from discussions of gender, the politics of power, and misogynistic lyrics, to the music's influence on American culture in general. According to Angela Ards of the Women's Review of Books, Morgan's book "accomplishes what the academics envision" by making her feminism approachable, comprehensible, and accessible to people with diverse backgrounds. Ards described Morgan's voice as "fresh, funky, irreverent," adding that it represented African-American women well. Vanessa Bush, a reviewer for Booklist, wrote that with her book, Morgan "brings a powerful voice to concerns of modern black women." A reviewer for the Village Voice wrote that in When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost, "Morgan proves to be a charming, witty, and insightful commentator."

Morgan is currently editor at large for Essence magazine, and told Peterson that she is delighted with the job. "I have billions of story ideas that I know I can't physically produce, so I love to think them up and assign them out to somebody else. . . . I'm very excited about editing and can see myself doing this for some time."

Although Morgan defined herself as a "hip-hop journalist" for some time, after the birth of her son, she "resigned" from that position, according to an article she wrote for Essence. She noted, "At age thirty-five I've finally realized that for the first time in two decades hip hop is no longer the soundtrack to my life. I do not live in the ghetto. In fact, I've worked hard so my son won't have to. I treasure my family's investment portfolio over trips to Gucci and Prada."