Ebele Oseye

Ellease Ebele N. Oseye (formerly known as Ellease Southerland; born 1943, Brooklyn, New York) is an African-American poet and author who received the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for Poetry. She teaches African Literature at Pace University. Her father was Monroe Penrose Southerland who worked as a lay preacher, while her mother, Ellease Dozier, worked in the home, tending to Ellease and her fourteen siblings. Her uncle read poetry at her father's services on Sundays, and her family regularly encouraged reading and writing.

Education and career Oseye graduated from Queens College in 1965, writing "White Shadows" while a student there. She earned her degree then began social work to support her family after her mother's death from cancer, also in 1965.

Writing themes Oseye's work has been seen as "spiritual", as well as connected to her family.