Kalimbaradio Business Marketing

Kef Ventress Marks is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from McMain Magnet High School, holds a BA in Literature and Language from the University of Southern California as well as a graduate degree in English. His literary and academic focus includes: 20th century American literature, literary and film criticism, creative writing, major authors and African American literature. He credits Langston Hughes, Chinua Achebe, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, A Tribe Called Quest, Billy Wilder, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Africa Bambaataa, Stanley Kubrick, Sarah Vaughn, Rod Serling, Marvin Gaye, Maurice White and Chuck D as his major creative influences. In February of 2017 he will release his nonfiction work, No Fat Tuesday, the Trouble with New Orleans, a volume of poetry (Infinitesimal) as well as a series of scholarly articles that highlight selected works of August Wilson, Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison. His most recent work, Institutional racism and the search for masculinity-identity of the male characters in the works of Richard Wright will be published as a scholarly essay.