found: African American National Biography, accessed via The Oxford African American Studies Center online database, July 27, 2014:(Melba Joyce Boyd; poet, educator, essayist, biographer; born April 02, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, United States; BA in English with a minor in Communications (1971) and Masters of Arts in English (1972) from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan; taught at Wayne County Community, College (WC3) and Shaw College in Detroit; was as an editor at Broadside Press; Doctorate of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (1979); taught in a variety of academic settings including University of Iowa (1982-1988); University of Bremen, West Germany (1983-1984); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1989-1993), Wayne State University)