She earned her Ph.D from the University of Maryland. Her book, The Spirit and the Word: A Theory of Spirituality for Africana Literary Criticism, offers a new theoretical approach to literary criticism that is informed by Ifa, an ancient African spiritual tradition, which she calls the Ifa Paradigm. She is also the author of numerous published articles, including “1975 Was Not a Very Good Year: Growing Up in the Rural South,” “Testing and Tricking: Elegba in Charles Chesnutt’s “The Goophered Grapevine” and the “Passing of Grandison,’” and “Ifa Goes to Hollywood: Oya, Elegba, and Shango in The Best Man and To Sleep with Anger.” Dr. Bess Montgomery is currently writing the literary biography of poet, scholar, activist Mari Evans. She is also President of The National Council for Black Studies, where she also serves as Chair of the Student Committee.