Lisa Jones

Lisa Victoria Chapman Jones (born August 15, 1961) is an American playwright, essayist, journalist, and memoirist. Personal life and education Jones grew up in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. She is the daughter of poets Hettie Jones and Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones). Jones graduated from Yale University and received a MFA in Film from New York University. She married Kenneth S. Brown in 2004 and their daughter was born in 2005. She is Jewish. Her sister, Kellie Jones, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. Jones has a half-brother, Newark, New Jersey, mayor Ras Baraka, and a half-sister, Dominique di Prima, from Amiri's relationship with di Prima's mother. Journalism Jones joined the staff of the Village Voice in 1984 and wrote for the paper for 15 years. She was known for her "Skin Trade" columns in the Village Voice, a selection of which were published as a book, Bulletproof Diva, in 1994.