A childhood love of storytelling

Little seven-year-old Ebony beamed with fulfillment as she watched out of her window for the mailman to arrive with her weekly Scholastic book. When he arrived, she would rush to the mailbox with her cloth satchel in tow to nestle her new fairytale in, pulling it out to read every chance she got.

"Those were my prize possessions as a little girl," said Dr. Lumumba. "I would read these books over and over again, and just marvel at the power that I associated with being able to tell a story that was captivating."

From devoted reader to published writer

Her interests never wavered. In college, she academically dove right into the words that had brought her so much joy over the years, obtaining three degrees in English—an undergrad at Spelman, a master's at Georgia State, and a doctorate at the University of Mississippi. Her love for reading naturally turned into doing some writing of her own.

"I wanted to produce stories like the ones that I came up reading," said Lumumba, whose first published work was a poem about being at her grandparents' house. "These fantastical stories, or sometimes your story is about recognizable things, like the South, and food, and relationships."

Building a career as a scholar and literary critic

At the collegiate and graduate level, Lumumba became more of an academic writer. As a literary critic, most of her publications are scholarly, peer-reviewed work in books and journals. She also has creative work, but even it has informed how she approaches fiction.

"What I describe as a transition into more creative work has come out of years and years of studying other creatives, from a literary analysis standpoint," said Lumumba, Department Chair of English and Modern Languages, and a Professor of English at Jackson State University. "And I think it's strengthened me as a writer, and as a creator. And so I have short stories now that are published."

A growing body of published work

They include "On Seeing Them/Us," published in a 2024 Callaloo issue, When We Exhale: An Anthology of Black Women: Rooted in Ancestral Medicine, published in a 2022 Black Freighter Press issue, and an article in the Eudora Welty Review titled "Caught in the Act of Living." She's been working on a few pieces for years, and some are in her writer's vault for later publication this year, including The Darling Nikki: An Anthology of Creative Works, dedicated to the memory of Nikki Giovanni, "We Water," and "Angel Unawares."

What's next: a debut novel and a full reading list

As she continues to dwell in the world of words, she's working on her first novel, but in the meantime she never resists the impulse to become consumed by pages written by others. Right now, she's immersed in My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Kin by Tayari Jones, Blue Hand Mojo: Hard Times Road by John Jennings, and rereading The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward.