Damon Young (born December 30, 1978)[1][2] is an American writer and editor. He is the co-founder of the website Very Smart Brothas. Young released his first book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker, in 2019 with HarperCollins.[3]
Damon Young | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, editor |
| Language | English |
| Education | Canisius College |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Literary movement | Black |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Notable works | What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editYoung was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Vivienne and Wilbur Young.[4] He spent most of his adolescence in East Liberty. As a teenager, Young lived in Penn Hills where he became a basketball player for Penn Hills High School.[5] He earned a basketball scholarship at Canisius College, graduating with a degree in English in 2002.[6]
Career
editYoung co-founded a website called Very Smart Brothas (VSB) in 2008 with D. Marcellus Wright, who uses the pen name Panama Jackson.[1] The website featured essays on pop culture, politics, and absurdist humor written for an African-American audience. Gizmodo Media Group acquired VSB in 2016. It is now a vertical on the website The Root.[7]
He is also a columnist for GQ, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.[7][8] Young became a weekly contributing columnist for The Washington Post in January, 2022.[9]
Young signed a two-book publishing deal with HarperCollins' Ecco imprint in November 2016.[1] His first book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays, was released in March 2019.[10] Consisting of a collection of personal essays primarily about race, gender, class, and Black identity,[11] the book received positive critical attention. Publishers Weekly wrote in a review: "Young's charm and wit make these essays a pleasure to read; his candid approach makes them memorable."[12] Karamagi Rujumba wrote for the Post-Gazette: " 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker' is in equal parts a deeply introspective account of a life and an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism."[11] Michael Kleber-Diggs wrote for the Star Tribune: "Readers who know Young's work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit, and his keen mind."[13] The book won the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor.[14]
Ebony named him to its Power 100 2017 list under the Luminaries category.[15]
Personal life
editYoung is married and has a daughter and son. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3][16]
Works
edit- Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm At Night Lexington, KY: Very Smart Brothas Media, 2011. ISBN 9781453708767, OCLC 702658318
- What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker New York, NY: Ecco, 2019. ISBN 9780062684301, OCLC 1090242570
References
edit- ^ a b c Ramanathan, Lavanya (November 21, 2016). "Very Smart Brothas is the blackest thing that ever happened to the Internet. Period". Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "White people often don't see Damon Young. That's about to change".
- ^ a b Simon, Scott (March 23, 2019). "'What Doesn't Kill You' Navigates The Challenges Of Existing While Black". NPR.org. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Cunningham, Lisa (February 27, 2019). "Damon Young's What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ^ Byko, Laura (April 29, 2015). "Blogger left basketball behind to chronicle black experience in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ^ "Canisius College Welcomes Damon Young Back to Campus". Canisius College. March 21, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
- ^ a b Weidenhof, Alex (July 8, 2017). "Gizmodo Media Group acquires Very Smart Brothas blog". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Young, Damon (April 9, 2021). "Opinion | Racism Makes Me Question Everything. I Got the Vaccine Anyway". The New York Times.
- ^ WashPostPR (January 24, 2022). "Damon Young joins The Washington Post Magazine as a contributing columnist". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
- ^ León, Concepción de (March 25, 2019). "Damon Young on the 'Absurdity' of Being Black". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ^ a b Rujumba, Karamagi (March 22, 2019). "Damon Young finds hilarity and profundity in vulnerability". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays". Publishers Weekly. January 17, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Kleber-Diggs, Michael (March 22, 2019). "Review: 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker,' by Damon Young". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Thurber Prize for American HumorThurber House Archived November 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ebony.com. "EBONY Power 100 2017 Honoree - Damon Young". EBONY Power 100 2017. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ King, Jamilah (March–April 2019). "White people often don't see Damon Young. That's about to change". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
External links
edit
- Damon Young on Twitter
- VerySmartBrothas on The Root