Mahogany L. Browne

Mahogany L. Browne was born in Oakland, California but has been based in Brooklyn, NY for over 15 years. A strong, black woman, Browne is unapologetic in her work as a spoken word poet, author, and activist. She uses her personal experience with addiction, racism, sexism, and oppression to inspire her own brand of shameless, authentic work. Browne’s spoken word performances create a platform through poetry for women and girls to feel empowered and heard.

Featured in the PBS NewsHour segment, Brief But Spectacular, Browne read her poem “Black Girl Magic” about the struggles facing African-American women and girls in modern society. She has been featured in HBO’s Brave New Voices as the artistic director at Urban Word NYC. Browne is the publisher of Penmanship Books, curator of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Friday Night Slam, founder of the Women Writers of Color Reading Room, and the director of Black Lives Matter at Pratt Institute.

A Cave Canem fellow, Browne has published several poetry collections and books, including Woke Baby,  Black Girl Magic, Kissing Caskets, Redbone, and Dear Twitter: Love Letters Hashed Out Online. She has also released five LPs, including a live album, Sheroshima. Most recently, Mahogany was one of the three African-American women chosen to curate Spotify’s Black Girl Magic playlist. Browne has toured internationally as a member of Global Poetics, an international arts exchange.