Belton, Don

Dates:

Active 1960

Active 2009

Biographical notes:

Indiana University Assistant Professor Don Belton (1956-2009), who taught in the Creative Writing Program in the English Department from July 2008-December 2009. Professor Belton was born on August 7, 1956 to Charles and Dora Belton in Philadelphia, PA. Educated in the Philadelphia school system, his talents, gifts and potential won him a scholarship to William Penn Charter School. Belton earned a B.A. from Bennington College in 1981 and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins College in 1982. Professor Belton's publications include the highly-regarded novel Almost Midnight. He was also the editor of the anthology Speak My Name: Black Men on Masculinity and the American Dream (1996), considered a groundbreaking contribution to representations of black male experience. He published widely in literary reviews, literature anthologies, cultural journals, popular magazines and newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Black Film Review, Artpaper, Transition, The Utne Reader, and The Indiana Review. Prior to coming to IU Bloomington, Belton taught at Shippensburg University, the University of Michigan, Macalester College, and the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he had been a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference at Middlebury College, Macdowell and Yaddo artists' colonies, the Rockefeller Center in Italy, and the Center for Media Studies at Brown University.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1960-2009. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 775443071

Professor Belton was born on August 7, 1956 to Charles and Dora Belton in Philadelphia, PA. Educated in the Philadelphia school system, his talent, gifts and potential won him a scholarship to William Penn Charter School. Belton earned a B.A. from Bennington College in 1981 and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins College in 1982.

Professor Belton’s publications include the highly-regarded novel Almost Midnight (1986). He was also the editor of the anthology Speak My Name: Black Men on Masculinity and the American Dream (1996), considered a groundbreaking contribution to representations of black male experience. He published widely in in literary reviews, literature anthologies, cultural journals, popular magazines and newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, Black Film Review, Artpaper, Transition, The Utne Reader, and The Indiana Review. Prior to coming to IU Bloomington, Belton taught at Shippensburg University, the University of Michigan, Macalester College, and the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he had been a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference at Middlebury College, Macdowell and Yadoo artists’ colonies, the Rockefeller Center in Italy, and the Center for Media Studies at Brown University.

From the guide to the Belton, Don mss., 1960-2009, (Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington))