Sherley Anne Williams

Sherley Anne Williams (August 25, 1944 – July 6, 1999) was an American poet, novelist, professor, vocalist, Jazz poet, and social critic. Many of her works tell stories about her life in the African-American community.

Williams was born in Bakersfield, California. When she was little her family picked cotton in order to get money. At the age of eight her father died of tuberculosis and when she was sixteen her mother died. She graduated from Thomas Alva Edison High School in Fresno California in 1962. In 1966 she earned her bachelor's degree in English at what is now California State University at Fresno and she received her master's degree at Brown University in 1972. The following year (1973) she became a professor of English Literature at the University of California at San Diego. She traveled to Ghana under a 1984 Fulbright grant. Her works include collections of poetry such as The Peacock Poems (1975), the novel Dessa Rose (1986), and two picture books. She also published the groundbreaking work Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study of Neo-Black Literature in 1972. Williams is also known and remembered for her music which mainly consisted of blues, and jazz poetry. In the early-1980s' Sherley Anne Williams recorded her debut record single called - “Some Sweet Angel Chile.” Which was written, recorded, and self-published by Sherley Anne Williams in 1982. The single was re-released by Blues Economique Records in 1984. The music for the “Some Sweet Angel Chile.” single was done by Bertram Turetzky. In the early- 1990s' Williams reconnected with Bertram Turetzky's to some recording sessions for Bertram Turetzky's album called – "Compositions And Improvisations" which also featured of various jazz and blues artist such as Vinny Golia, Jerome Rothenberg, Quincy Troupe, Nancy Turetzky. She is credited for her contributions to Bertram Turetzky's album (as a vocalist). The album was recorded at Studio 101, in Solana Beach, California during the summer of 1992. The album was released the following year by Nine Winds Records in 1993. Three of the songs featured in the album consisted of poems which was previously written by Sherley Anne Williams called "One-Sided Bed Blues," "Big Red And His Brother," and "The Wishon Line," which were all recorded in musical format for the album.