Zenobia Lundy

Zenobia Lundy, a daughter of the Great Migration, grew up and has lived most of her life in West Philadelphia. Her mother, Mary Michael, an inspiration for many of her poems, was born in South Carolina and came North where she became a day worker and later a nurse for her remaining years.

A graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, with two years of undergraduate work at Temple University, Zenobia studied photography, which remains a passion, at the Antonelli School of Photography. Zenobia considers herself an urban gardener inspired by the cycle of life in nature.

In her late teens, Zenobia began writing poems—many of them autobiographical—and she has never stopped. For more than a decade she worked in public housing, managing Raymond Rosen Manor and Richard Allen Homes. Many of her poems are inspired by the people she served there. She currently works for the federal government.

Zenobia believes that poetry will always reflect the times we live in. “As a matter of fact, I wrote a verse today and it’s etched in my mind,” she says. “I saw a little girl going to school swinging her arms and smiling, and every one of her steps was filled confidence and grace. I imagined that little girl to be full of dreams. At the same time, I saw an old man sitting on the corner and wondered if his life was full of contentment or regrets, or both. But it’s all part of the life cycle and our lives are pure poetry, if we choose to see it that way.”

Zenobia currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband, William, and is working on her second book of poetry.