The story of Shirley Bradley Price LeFlore is distinctive. She was a creative individual, an advocate, a poet, and a psychologist. What made her even more endearing is that she was a loyal daughter, sister, wife, mother, auntie, grandmother, colleague and friend who always found time to help people, nurture her students and support her community. The following provides a glimpse into the intricate and multifaceted person she embodied.
The women gather
mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and sweethearts
grannies and aunt sister bell and hoochies with their hellhounds
and hollars / their children and men / lost lovers / lifted
leftover / forever and lasting with skeletons / secrets / gri-gri
and hush-hush folded in little bitty pieces
The women gather
knitting hands / re-stitching their lives
reconnecting the circle
piecing the quilt to keep us warm
from generations for generations and generations to come…
~excerpt of “The Women Gather” from Brassbones & Rainbows (2013) by Shirley Bradley LeFlore
A lifelong poet, activist, and educator, St. Louis Poet Laureate Emeritus Shirley J. Bradley Price LeFlore dedicated her life to storytelling and empowering others to share their stories. An intersectional feminist long before the term was coined, Shirley was a driving progressive voice for St. Louisans, representing the city during pivotal moments like the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign and the March on Washington. Her innovative style of poetry and spoken word brought with it acclaim from literary icons like Margaret Walker, Sonia Sanchez, James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, Toni Cade Bambara, and Ntozake Shange, to name a few.
Shirley was an original member of the renowned Black Artists Group (BAG), co-founded by her late husband, noted jazz musician Floyd LeFlore. In 1981, she gave a platform to a new era of artists when she founded the Creative Arts and Expressions Lab (C.A.E.L) in St. Louis, an intergenerational, local arts consortium and incubator for poetry, dance, music, and visual arts.
Shirley’s writings have appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Spirit & Flame; Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry (1997); ALOUD: Voices From The Nuyorican Poets Café (1995); Black American Literature Forum: Henry Dumas, Vol 22, No. 2 (1988); Turn In The River: Celebration Issue for Gwendolyn Brooks (1988); SHEBA REVIEW: Anthology of Missouri Women Writers (1987), phati’tude Literary Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 1; (2010) and Vol. 2, No. 4 (2010); and Black Lives Have Always Mattered (2017). Shirley has also written for and sat on the editorial board of RIVER STYX: Literary & Arts Magazine (1975-1988).
Shirley was the producer of phatLiterature (known phati’tude Literary TV Show) as a multicultural arts literary series for the IAAS in New York City, where she presented the works of literary poetry legends Gwendolyn Brooks and her mentor, Margaret Walker. In in 2009, her works were featured prominently in the critically acclaimed novel, Wildflowers, written by her daughter, television producer and New York Times bestselling author Lyah Beth LeFlore-Ituen; and in 2015 she was a consultant on and appeared in the indie film Word Warriors III.
Her full-length poetry anthology Brassbones & Rainbows: The Collected Works of Shirley Bradley LeFlore (2013); and the prolific ode to the strength of women, the choreopoem Rivers Of Women, The Play (2013), were simultaneously published by 2Leaf Press. The latter, adapted to the synonymous stage play and directed by her daughter, Lyah, in 2011 and 2013, with sold-out limited runs at the Missouri History Museum.
Throughout her 50-year career, Shirley performed locally, nationally, and internationally, including a historic performance at Carnegie Hall with Don Byron and fellow St. Louis native and woodwind virtuoso J.D. Parran; and touring and performing across Europe with the late, Grammy-nominated soul and gospel artist, Fontella Bass.
She is a proud product of the St. Louis Public Schools and a graduate of Charles H. Sumner High School. Shirley attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, and later graduated from Webster College (now known as Webster University); receiving her Master’s from the prestigious Washington University. Shirley was the first African American assistant dean of students at Webster, taught women and ethnic literature at the University of Missouri, and taught a creative writing cluster at Lindenwood University. She has also been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities around the country including Harris-Stowe State University, and Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Shirley been a guest artist or artist in residence in the St. Louis City and County Public School Districts. A practicing psychologist, she also received grants from the Missouri Arts Council and CDCA for state touring to write projects that were artistically driven, but centered on key social issues, such as the stage production, “Behavior As Theater” for adolescents; and “Deliverance,” a play that was among one of the first regional productions centered around AIDS and HIV. She also served a National Institute in Minority Mental Health Fellow (NIMH).
Recognized for her pioneering approach as a poet, Shirley was officially appointed as the second Poet Laureate of St. Louis on November 9, 2018, making her the first Black woman to hold the position. The ceremony occurred in the Rotunda at City Hall and was conducted by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
Shirley died after a hard-fought battle with kidney disease on Mother’s Day morning on Sunday, May 12, 2019 surrounded by family and friends in her Frontenac home. She was 79 years old. Shirley is survived by her three daughters, four grandchildren, and a rich legacy of serving St. Louis through her support of countless artists and students.
We pay tribute to that valuable legacy through the establishment of the Shirley Bradley LeFlore Foundation, which aims to create, educate, and support her cherished St. Louis community and beyond.