Poet Stephen Earley Jordan II reads at Alderson-Broaddus

On Thursday, October 8, Stephen Earley Jordan II will be on the Alderson-Broaddus campus to read his poetry and prose. The reading will be at 3:00 p.m. in the Humanities Division Lounge, 206 Withers-Brandon. Admission is free, and everyone is invited to attend.
Jordan, originally from Huntington, WV, is a 1999 graduate of Alderson-Broaddus College, where he earned a BA in writing and literature. Shortly after graduation, Jordan left West Virginia for New York City, where he established an editing business, offering clients short- and long-term writing/editing consultations. Clients have included educational publishers, universities, travel magazines, encyclopedias, web sites, and various pharmaceutical advertising agencies.

In May 2006, Jordan published Beyond Bougie, a collection of creative nonfiction, essays, and poetry on race, class, and gender. The book has been used for book clubs and college (multicultural/sociology) courses. During this time, Jordan also created the “Are You Bougie?” presentation, allowing him to visit colleges and speak about being progressive in the Black community. In August 2007, Jordan published a follow-up collection of his works, Cold, Black, and Hungry.

"I see myself as an educator, even though I don't teach in a classroom,” Jordan has said. “Editing and writing allow me to educate my readers about our own deep-rooted hidden agendas, whether it's with my creative writing, nonfiction, or poetry. I write about real life people and our uncomfortable circumstances. People rarely want to talk about these issues. But we must recognize these issues if we want to progress in life. This is why I write."

Jordan recently founded OutStretch Literary Advancements, an educational, literary nonprofit organization building mini-libraries for foster group homes. He also recently released his spoken word CD "Black Baby Tears.” Jordan lives in Bronx, New York.