Woodrow O. Lucasz was born on July 31st, 1974. He grew up in Randolph, New Jersey. In High school he was co-captain of my football team and a national merit semifinalist. In 1997, he graduated with honors from Northwestern University, majoring in mathematical methods in the social sciences and political science.
In 1997, He married his wife Machel LeAnn Mills Lucas, and is still happily married. That same year his wife gave birth to their first child, Autumn Alexandra Lucas. He had his second child, Gabrielle, in the spring of 2008. In 1998, he was licensed to preach at Monumental Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois and has been a minister ever since.
Woodrow’s literary influences include but are not limited to Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, Charles Dickens, Jane Austin, Alexander Dumas, Stephen King, Frank Herbert, Langston Hughes, Jim Morrison, and Maya Angelou.
He has written two books, A Book of Rhythm and Insane Joy.
He finished A Book of Rhythm in the summer of 2002 after working on it off and on for 6 years. The project began while he was on a hiatus from Northwestern.
A Book of rhythm is an allegorical account of a African- American boy’s conversation with his Psychiatrist. The book traces the boy’s hypnotic adventures through the imaginary lands of Tribes (racism), Sheets (class injustice), Gods (Religious Myopia), Scripts (Cultural Superficiality), the Fall (The boy’s period of convicting introspection), and Rhythm (The boys cathartic revelation surrounding a new moral perspective).
In 2004, he matriculated to Vanderbilt University, where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies in the summer of 2007. It was also in the summer of 2007, that he finished his second book, Insane Joy.
Insane Joy is the story of Grandfather Jacob as told to his grandson Joseph. Grandfather Jacob is an African-American male who survived and recovered from mental illness to become a successful writer, scholar, minister, and activist. Insane Joy probes the depths of obstacles and triumphs of successful recovery from schizoaffective disorder, one of the most acute mental illnesses in the world. Through his stern yet calming voice, Grandfather Jacob recounts his story to his grandson who himself is beginning to experience symptoms.
His aspirations as a writer are manifold. He aspires to write non-fiction about topics ranging from the African-American Diaspora to Mental Health. He aspires to continue to write fiction, autobiographical fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, always with the motivation to inspire, convict, and illuminate.
Woodrow Currently writes articles for the Nashville Examiner and maintains a website called The Jesus Renaissance.