Johnson, Charles, 1948-

Charles Johnson is an American novelist and fiction writer, winner of the 1990 National Book Award in fiction for his work, Middle Passage, and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship in 1998. He served as a director of the creative writing program at the University of Washington and went on to hold the S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Professorship for Excellence in English.

Charles Johnson is an American novelist and fiction writer, winner of the 1990 National Book Award in fiction for his work, Middle Passage , and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship in 1998. He served as a director of the creative writing program at the University of Washington and went on to hold the S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Professorship for Excellence in English.

Charles Richard Johnson was born in 1948 in Evanston, Illinois. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1971 and a master's degree in philosophy in 1973. He received his PhD from SUNY Stoneybrook in New York, in 1988, delving into the issues of phenomenology and literary aesthetics. Before committing himself to a writing career, Johnson worked as a political cartoonist and photojournalist. Prior to holding S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Professorship for Excellence in English at the University of Washington, he was the chair of the university's Creative Writing Department.

He has published an array of radio dramas, articles, and novels, such as Faith and the Good Thing (1974), Oxherding Tale (1982), Middle Passage (1990), and Dreamer (1998). Johnson also wrote and produced a series for PBS and is fiction editor for the Seattle Review

The letters and manuscripts contained in the collection comprise material sent to Johnson's friend and former professor John Gardner (1933–1982). Gardner taught creative writing at Southern Illinois University and was an author as well, publishing books, poems, and collections of essays.

Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 33, Afro–American fiction writers after 1955. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Co., 1984 "Charles Johnson/Biography." http://www.oxherdingtale.com (accessed October 2009). Some biographical information is derived from material in the collection.

Charles R. Johnson was born April 23, 1948 in Evanston, Illinois. He completed a BA from Southern Illinois University in 1971 and an MA in 1973. He completed further postgraduate work at State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1973-1976. A writer, cartoonist, and educator, Johnson has been teaching at the University of Washington in Seattle since 1976. Johnson has published several novels along with short story collections and nonfiction. He is a Pollock Professor for Excellence in English, and remains on a board of directors within the Associated Writing Programs at the University of Washington.

E. Ethelbert Miller was born November 20, 1950 in New York, New York. He completed a BA from Howard University in 1972. A poet, essayist, editor and educator, Miller has published poetry collections and has edited several anthologies. Miller is a member of the PEN American Center, Associated Writing Program, Institute for Policy Studies, National Writers Union, Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, Alliance of Greater Washington, Community Humanities Council of Washington, DC and is the director of African-American Resource Center at Howard University.