Eisa Nefertari Ulen is the author of Crystelle Mourning, a novel described by The Washington Post as “a call for healing in the African American community from generations of hurt and neglect.” She is the recipient of a Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center Fellowship for Young African American Fiction Writers, and a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship.
Eisa was nominated by Essence magazine for a National Association of Black Journalists Award for her tribute to photographer Mfon Essien, and she won a National Association of Black Journalists Award for her contribution to the Heart & Soul magazine feature, “State of Our Girls.”
She has contributed to numerous other publications, including The Washington Post, Ms., Health, Vibe, The Source, The Crisis, Black Issues Book Review, Quarterly Black Review of Books, TheRoot.com, TheDefendersOnline.com, TheGrio.com, and CreativeNonfiction.org.
Her essays on African American culture have been widely anthologized and explore topics ranging from Hip Hop, to Muslim life in America post-9/11, to contemporary Black literature, to the gap between the Civil Rights generation and Generation X.
Eisa graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University. She has taught at Hunter College and The Pratt Institute. A founding member of Ringshout: A Place for Black Literature, she lives with her husband and son in Brooklyn. More...
Mosaic Magazine
- Relevant Literature, Issue 18, Spring 2007
Interview with Eisa by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
"Ulen's writings flow with beautiful cadence and wordplay while tempered by her powerful political and femist orientation."
Check out Eisa's Blog, featuring photos from tours and other engagements.
Read reviews of Eisa's novel, Crystelle Mourning.
Contact Eisa to schedule an interview or tour.
Read selected essays and articles by Eisa Ulen.