Mari Evans (July 16, 1919 – March 10, 2017) was an African-American poet, writer, and dramatist associated with the Black Arts Movement. Evans received grants and awards including a lifetime achievement award from the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. Her poetry is known for its lyrical simplicity and the directness of its themes. She also wrote nonfiction and edited Black Women Writers (1950–1980): A Critical Evaluation (Doubleday, 1984), an important and timely critical anthology devoted to the work of fifteen writers. Evans died at the age of ninety-seven in Indianapolis, Indiana. Early life and education Evans was born in Toledo, Ohio, on July 16, 1919, to Mary Jane Jacobs and William Reed Evans. Evans's mother died when Mari was seven years old. Evans's father strongly encouraged her to develop and cultivate her writing ability throughout her life. Evans attended local public schools before enrolling at the University of Toledo in 1939. She majored in fashion design, but left in 1941 without earning a college degree. Career After leaving college, Evans decided to pursue a career as a musician. This decision prompted her to move to the East Coast, where she began to collaborate with various jazz musicians, including Wes Montgomery, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1947, Evans left the East Coast and moved to Indianapolis. After she settled in the city, Evans worked for the Indiana Housing Authority before joining the U.S. Civil Service. Evans gained notoriety as a poet during the 1960s and 1970s and became associated with the Black Arts Movement, an effort to explore African American culture and history through the arts and literature. In addition to Evans, other prominent members of the movement were Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Etheridge Knight, Haki R. Madhubuti, Larry Neal, and Sonia Sanchez, among others. Evans was also an activist interested in social justice issues and a critic of racism. As she later remarked, "From the time I was five . . . I was aware that color was an issue over which the society and I would war." Evans began a series of teaching appointments in American universities in 1969. During 1969–70 she served as writer-in-residence at Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis, where she taught courses in African American literature. Evans accepted a position the following year as an assistant professor and writer-in-residence at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she taught until 1978. From 1968 to