Although she has published many volumes of poems and her work has appeared in several anthologies and in numerous periodicals, Jayne Cortez is best known as a performer of her own poetry. Her association with the Watts Repertory Theatre Company in Los Angeles is, perhaps, responsible for her concentration on the oral delivery of her poems. This focus is complemented and amplified by her feelings for the performance styles of a number of black musicians and singers, such as Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker. Cortez's ability to chant her poetry using evocative, jazz-influenced vocalizations has marked her as a creative artist uniquely able to reach audiences for whom books of poetry have little appeal. Her reputation has grown by means of her contact with audiences at poetry festivals, universities, and writers' conferences, and her record albums have been favorably reviewed in popular magazines.

Jayne Cortez was born in...