Dr. Janis Alene Mayes is an American author, literary critic and translator and a professor in Africana literature.
[1][2][3] Mayes gained her undergraduate degree in French literature at Fisk University.
[7][citation needed] Nina Simone, Archie Shepp, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Sonia Sanchez and Toni Morrison were involved.
In 2004, she conversed with Morrison at the Theatre de la Madeleine after the unveiling of a bench commemorating the end of slavery in France.
[8] She has also organized cultural literary conferences, including an event with Discover Paris!