Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks (born 1912) is an African American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist, and film director. He has been an important and creative force in all of these fields. He began his public career as a freelance fashion and personality photographer in Chicago, but his first substantial work came as a documentary photographer with the Farm Security Administration. He has also performed as a jazz pianist. He directed a number of movies during the "Blaxploitation" phase of American cinema, though the films cannot be classified that way. He was a notable campaigner for civil rights in the US. He has also been the subject of film and print profiles (notably "Half Past Autumn" (2000)).

Books

• Camera Portraits (1948)(Documentary)
• The Learning Tree (1964) (Semi Autobiographical)
• A Choice of Weapons (1967) (autobiographical)
• To Smile in Autumn (1979)(autobiographical)
• Voices in the Mirror (1990)(autobiographical)
• The Sun Stalker (2003) (Biography on J.M.W. Turner)
• A Hungry Heart (Nov. 1, 2005) (autobiographical)

Published compilations of his poetry and photography

• Gordon Parks: A Poet and His Camera
• Gordon Parks: Whispers of Intimate Things
• Gordon Parks: In Love, Moments Without Proper Names
• Arias of Silence
• Glimpses Toward Infinity