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Donika Kelly
Donika Kelly 0000000497770596 Donika Kelly, award-winning author of 'Bestiary', is celebrated for her contributions to poetry with accolades like the 2015 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and 2018 Kate Tufts ...
Cornelius Eady
Cornelius Eady 0000000025783225 Cornelius Eady is a renowned poet and author of eight books, including award-winning “Victims of the Latest Dance Craze.” He co-founded the Cave Canem workshop for Afr...
Nicole Sealey
Nicole Sealey NONE Nicole Sealey, originally from St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., is an acclaimed author and poet known for 'Ordinary Beast' and her award-winning chapbook. She's a recipient of numerous prizes...
Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady
Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady MULTIPLE Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady are co-founders of the Cave Canem Foundation, established in 1996 to support African American poets and address their unde...
Sheree Renée Thomas
Sheree Renée Thomas 0000000019174343 Sheree R. Thomas is a multi-talented writer, editor, publisher, educator, and visual artist. She co-publishes the literary journal Anansi and founded Wanganegress...
Tyehimba Jess
Tyehimba Jess 0000000044353175 Congrats to Tyehimba Jess: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Tyehimba Jess, a Detroit native, is an award-winning poet and professor. His first book, Leadbelly, won ...
Jacqueline Johnson
Jacqueline Johnson NONE Jacqueline Johnson is a multi-disciplined artist and award-winning author known for her work in writing and fiber arts. She has taught poetry at multiple institutions and has ...
Toni Asante Lightfoot
Toni Asante Lightfoot NONE Toni Asante Lightfoot, a Cave Canem graduate and writing workshop teacher, is a co-founder of the Modern Urban Griots and a leader in the Blackout Arts Collective. She serv...
Dana Canedy, Darcy Eveleigh, Damien Cave, and Rachel L. Swarns
Dana Canedy, Darcy Eveleigh, Damien Cave, and Rachel L. Swarns MULTIPLE Darcy Eveleigh, a photo editor at The New York Times, is the creator of “The Lively Morgue” blog. Dana Canedy, former senior ed...
Major Jackson
Major Jackson 000000011499709X Major Jackson, an award-winning American poet and professor, is known for his poetry collections and contributions to the Harvard Review. He's a recipient of the Whitin...
Reginald Harris
Reginald Harris 0000000022558452 Reginald Harris, a noted poet and IT Director at Poets House, NYC, is a winner of the 2012 Cave Canem/Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize. He's received multip...
Robin Coste Lewis
Robin Coste Lewis NONE Robin Coste Lewis, a Provost's Fellow at USC, Cave Canem fellow and LA Institute for Humanities fellow, is known for her wide-ranging poetry. With an MFA from NYU and MTS from ...
Tommye Blount
Tommye Blount 0000000497978952 Tommye Blount is a Cave Canem alumnus and acclaimed author of 'What Are We Not For' and 'Fantasia for the Man in Blue', which was recognized by the National Book Awards...
Ama Codjoe
Ama Codjoe NONE Award-winning author, recognized by Cave Canem, Saltonstall, Jerome, and Robert Rauschenberg Foundations. Recipient of 2017 Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award, 2018 Loraine Williams Poetry Pri...
Gerren Liles
Gerren Liles NONE Gerren Liles, a Morgan State University graduate and poet, uses his work to promote literacy and self-empowerment among black youth. A finalist for MTV's Real World: Hawaii, his poe...
Julian Randall
Julian Randall NONE Julian Randall, a Queer Black poet from Chicago, has received multiple fellowships and was named 2015's Best Poet at CUPSI. He curates for Winter Tangerine Review and is pursuing ...
Jamila Woods, Mahogany L. Browne, and Idrissa Simmonds
Jamila Woods, Mahogany L. Browne, and Idrissa Simmonds MULTIPLE Jamila Woods, a Chicago-based poet influenced by Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks, explores themes of blackness and womanhood. Maho...
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon 0000000033953968 Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon is a renowned American poet and scholar, celebrated for her exploration of race, identity, and human complexities in her work. Honor...
Desiree Cooper
Desiree Cooper NONE Desiree Cooper is a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow, ex-attorney, Pulitzer-nominated journalist, and Detroit activist. She has contributed fiction and poetry to numerous publications an...
Indigo Moor
Indigo Moor NONE Indigo Moor, Sacramento's Poet Laureate, is a multi-talented writer with works ranging from poetry to plays. His award-winning books include Tap-Root and Through the Stonecutter’s Wi...
Brandon Kilbourne
Brandon Kilbourne NONE Brandon Kilbourne is a Pushcart-nominated poet and biologist, whose work has appeared in Poet Lore, Obsidian, Ecotone, Terrain.org, West Trade Review, Split Rock Review, and n...
t’ai freedom ford
t’ai freedom ford NONE t’ai freedom ford is a NYC high school English teacher, Cave Canem Fellow, and award-winning poet. She has been published in numerous reviews and anthologies, and is an editor ...
Arisa White
Arisa White NONE Arisa White, an acclaimed poet and assistant professor at Colby College, is known for her work that centers queer and trans narratives. She is a Cave Canem graduate, a multiple award...
Tanya Shirley
Tanya Shirley NONE Jamaican author and lecturer Tanya Shirley is a graduate from the University of Maryland with an MFA in Creative Writing. Her work is featured in various publications and anthologi...
Remica Bingham-Risher
Remica Bingham-Risher NONE Remica Bingham-Risher, an esteemed Affrilachian poet and Cave Canem fellow, is known for her three award-winning poetry volumes. Her work is featured in prominent publicati...
Justin Phillip Reed
Justin Phillip Reed 0000000497688533 Justin Phillip Reed is a South Carolina-born author, known for his work in various publications and his MFA in poetry from Washington University. Recognized for h...
Alison C. Rollins
Alison C. Rollins NONE Alison C. Rollins is a celebrated poet, Cave Canem fellow, and recipient of the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. Alison C....
Teri Ellen Cross Davis
Teri Ellen Cross Davis NONE Teri Ellen Cross Davis, award-winning author of 'Haint: poems', is a Cave Canem Fellow and Poetry Coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Teri Ell...
Calvin C. Hernton
Calvin C. Hernton 0000000082664863 Calvin Coolidge Hernton, a pivotal figure in the Black Arts Movement, was a renowned poet, novelist, and social critic known for his exploration of race and sexuali...
Askia M. Toure
Askia M. Toure 0000000043979889 Askia Muhammad Touré, born Rolland Snellings in 1938, is a renowned poet, essayist, and political editor associated with the Black Arts Movement. He has served as edi...
Kelly Harris-DeBerry
Kelly Harris-DeBerry NONE Kelly Harris-DeBerry is an award-winning poet and the author of Freedom Knows My Name. Known for her gift to bring poems to life by using her voice as an instrument, audienc...
Aya de León
Aya de León NONE Aya de León is an award-winning author, activist, and educator at UC Berkeley. She's known for her Justice Hustlers series and has written for numerous publications. A Harvard alumn...
Chiquita Mullins Lee
Chiquita Mullins Lee NONE Chiquita Mullins Lee is an Arts Learning coordinator at the Ohio Arts Council, managing poetry and arts programs. A former creative writing teacher, she hosted an Emmy-winni...
John Murillo
John Murillo NONE John Murillo is a renowned poet and professor known for his works “Up Jump the Boogie” and “Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry.” He's won numerous awards including two Larry Neal Writers ...
Gregory Pardlo
Gregory Pardlo 0000000044381598 Gregory Pardlo is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and professor at Rutgers University-Camden. He's earned multiple fellowships and a National Endowment for the Arts gran...
Orlando Caicedo
Orlando Caicedo NONE Orlando Caicedo is a Colombian artist recognized for his work in illustration and comics. An Atlanta College of Art alumnus, he won Stan Lee's POW Entertainment/Webtoon comic con...
Steve Cannon
Steve Cannon 0000000363821597 Steve Cannon (1935-2019) was a key figure in the Black Arts Movement and a prominent Black writer from New Orleans. He moved to NYC in 1962, where he engaged in literary...
Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte 0000000083980729 “My skin causes certain problems continuously, problems that open the issue of racism over and over like a wound.” Toi Derricotte is an award-winning poet a...
Robert Greene
Robert Greene 000000010883135X Robert Greene, born May 14, 1959, is a renowned author known for his international bestsellers on strategy, power, and seduction, including 'The 48 Laws of Power', 'The...
Nate Marshall
Nate Marshall NONE Nate Marshall is an acclaimed author, poet, and educator, recognized for his book “Wild Hundreds.” As a member of The Dark Noise Collective and co-director of Crescendo Literary, h...
Donna Drew Sawyer
Donna Drew Sawyer NONE Donna Drew Sawyer, author of Provenance, has a rich background in arts administration, advertising, and public relations. A New Yorker with over three decades of experience in ...
Brian Gilmore
Brian Gilmore 0000000109671669 Brian Gilmore is a renowned poet, writer, attorney, and columnist associated with the Progressive Media Project. He's a multiple award-winning author with publications ...
Matthew Shenoda
Matthew Shenoda 0000000045678350 Matthew Shenoda is a writer, professor, and author and editor of several books. His poems and essays have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio progra...
Kwoya Fagin Maples
Kwoya Fagin Maples NONE Kwoya Fagin Maples, a renowned writer from Charleston, South Carolina, teaches creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. She has an MFA from the University of Alaba...
April R. Silver
April R. Silver NONE April R. Silver is a renowned marketing strategist, cultural curator, and social justice activist. As the founder of AKILA WORKSONGS, she's known for creating influential social ...
Lasana D. Kazembe
Lasana D. Kazembe NONE Dr. Lasana D. Kazembe, a Chicago-native scholar, specializes in Urban Education, Global Black Arts Movements, and the Black Intellectual Tradition. He explores Culturally Susta...
Douglas Kearney
Douglas Kearney 0000000038213846 Douglas Kearney, a renowned poet and professor, is known for his works addressing race and history. His first book, “Fear, Some,” was published in 2006, followed by o...
Hubert Henry Harrison
Hubert Henry Harrison 0000000012399179 Hubert Henry Harrison (1883–1927) was a St. Croix-born writer, orator, and activist known for founding the “New Negro” movement and influencing the Civil Righ...
Kim McMillon
Kim McMillon NONE Kim McMillon, Ph.D., is an acclaimed author contributing to anthologies and encyclopedias on Black Arts and Power Movements. She produced a notable Black Arts Movement Conference an...
Marvin X
Marvin X 0000000023827167 Marvin X, born in 1944, is a renowned poet, playwright, and essayist associated with the Black Arts Movement. Known for co-founding the Black House and Black Arts/West Theat...
Camonghne Felix
Camonghne Felix NONE Camonghne Felix, M.A., is a poet, political strategist, and cultural worker with degrees from NYU and Bard College. She's a recipient of multiple fellowships and a 2012 Pushcart ...
Nikky Finney
Nikky Finney 0000000358800804 Nikky Finney, a South Carolina-born poet, is renowned for her first-person literary accounts of significant American historical events. She debuted with “On Wings Made o...
Mahogany L. Browne
Mahogany L. Browne NONE Mahogany L. Browne is an acclaimed writer, organizer, and educator, serving as the Artistic Director of Urban Word NYC. She's a recipient of multiple fellowships and is the au...
Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rachel Eliza Griffiths 0000000527846142 Rachel Eliza Griffiths, a poet, photographer, and creative writing teacher, is renowned for her literary portraits, fine art photography, and lyric videos. She...
Freddi Williams Evans
Freddi Williams Evans 0000000034100692 Freddi Williams Evans is an award-winning author and former arts educator. She's recognized for her book “Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans” and her ad...
Anastacia-Reneé
Anastacia-Reneé NONE Anastacia-Reneé is an acclaimed writer, educator, artist, and speaker known for her cross-genre work. Author of several books, her works have been featured in numerous literary ...
Aracelis Girmay
Aracelis Girmay 0000000038001720 Aracelis Girmay, born December 10, 1977, is a renowned poet, author of multiple books including 'Teeth' and 'Kingdom Animalia', and a finalist for several awards. She...
Kamilah Aisha Moon
Kamilah Aisha Moon 0000000073434556 Kamilah Aisha Moon (1973-2021), a Nashville native, was a renowned author featured in numerous publications and a professor of English and Creative Writing. She wa...
Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay 000000035624500X Ava DuVernay is an award-winning writer, producer, and director in independent film. She founded DVA Media + Marketing and the African-American Film Festival Releasing M...
Useni Eugene Perkins
Useni Eugene Perkins 0000000082421407 Useni Eugene Perkins (1932-2023) was a renowned author, poet, playwright, social worker, and civil rights activist. Known for his work during the Chicago Black A...
James Ransome
James Ransome 0000000030399412 James E. Ransome is an award-winning illustrator known for his children's books. His accolades include the Coretta Scott King Award, IBBY Honor Award, and NAACP Image A...
Adrienne Kennedy
Adrienne Kennedy 0000000108609644 Adrienne Kennedy has been an important figure in the American theatre since the early 1960s, influencing generations of playwrights. She is a three-time Obie-award-w...
William Jelani Cobb
William Jelani Cobb 0000000034332610 William Jelani Cobb, Ph.D., is an accomplished author, educator, and journalist specializing in post-Civil War African American history and 20th-century American ...
Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair
Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair MULTIPLE Richard Ellmann, an influential literary critic and biographer, and Robert O’Clair, a scholar specializing in modern poetry, were key contributors to the s...
Zetta Elliott
Zetta Elliott 000000003627950X Zetta Elliott, a Canadian-born Black feminist writer, is known for her poetry, plays, essays, and children's novels. She earned a PhD in American Studies from NYU, taug...
James Smethurst
James Smethurst NONE James E. Smethurst, a Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is an expert in African American literature and culture. An accomplished auth...
W. J. Lofton
W. J. Lofton NONE W. J. Lofton, a Chicago-born poet and multimodal artist, is the author of A Garden for Black Boys Between the Stages of Soil and Stardust. His work explores the intersections of ra...
Truth Thomas
Truth Thomas NONE Truth Thomas, born in Knoxville and raised in Washington DC, is an award-winning poet and singer-songwriter. He has authored four poetry collections including Speak Water, winner of...
George S. Schuyler
George S. Schuyler 0000000114970428 George Samuel Schuyler was a prolific journalist and cultural critic, known for his controversial shift from liberal views to conservative ones throughout the 20th...
Larry Neal
Larry Neal 0000000108601036 Lawrence Paul Neal (1937-1981) was a significant scholar in African-American theatre and a key figure in the Black Arts Movement. Lawrence Paul Neal (September 5, 1937 &nd...
Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire 0000000121474035 One of the Founders of the Négritude Movement in Francophone Literature Aimé Césaire (1913-2008) was a Martinican poet, playwright, and politician who co-founded...
Ross Gay
Ross Gay 0000000040706017 Born in 1974, Ross Gay is a renowned author and editor, known for his books 'Against Which', 'Bringing the Shovel Down', and 'Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude'. He co-authored...
Clint Smith
Clint Smith NONE Clint Smith is an award-winning author and staff writer at The Atlantic, known for his poetry collection “Counting Descent.” He has received various fellowships and his work has been...
Rio Cortez
Rio Cortez NONE Rio Cortez is a Pushcart-nominated poet and writer, recognized with fellowships from esteemed literary organizations. Her work has featured in top publications and she also works as a...
John H. Bracey Jr.
John H. Bracey Jr. NONE John H. Bracey Jr. (1941-2023) was a renowned Afro-American studies professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, known for his work on African American history and cu...
Jeffery Renard Allen
Jeffery Renard Allen 0000000114593327 Jeffery Renard Allen, an award-winning author of poetry, short stories, and novels, is known for his celebrated novel, 'Rails Under My Back'. He's a fellow at pr...
Caroline Randall Williams
Caroline Randall Williams 0000000371378337 Caroline Randall Williams, born in 1987, is a multi-genre writer and educator based in Nashville, Tennessee. She's well-recognized for her award-winning wor...
Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Sharon Dennis Wyeth 0000000074254004 Sharon Dennis Wyeth is an African American author and educator from Washington, D.C., known for her award-winning children's and young adult books. She holds degr...
Danez Smith
Danez Smith 0000000529080232 Danez Smith is an award-winning poet from St. Paul, Minnesota. Known for his works such as [insert] boy, his poetry explores themes of race, class, sexuality, faith, and ...
Marcus Jackson
Marcus Jackson NONE Marcus Jackson, an accomplished poet from Toledo, Ohio, studied at the University of Toledo and NYU. His work has been published in prestigious journals like The New Yorker. Curre...
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Reginald Dwayne Betts 000000007591721X Reginald Dwayne Betts, a poet and legal scholar, transformed his life after a nine-year prison sentence for carjacking at 16. His poetry is published in various...
Hafizah Augustus Geter
Hafizah Augustus Geter NONE “Hafizah Augustus Geter is a genuine artist, not bound by genre or form…”— Hafizah Augustus Geter, a Nigerian American writer, poet, and literary a...
Geffrey Davis
Geffrey Davis NONE Geffrey Davis, an award-winning author and poet, is renowned for his book 'Revising the Storm'. He's a recipient of numerous accolades including the Anne Halley Poetry Prize. His w...
Amaud Jamaul Johnson
Amaud Jamaul Johnson NONE Amaud Jamaul Johnson, born in Compton, is an award-winning poet and English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Educated at Howard and Cornell, he's won the 20...
Omotara James
Omotara James NONE Omotara James is a writer, editor, and visual artist. She is the author of the chapbook Daughter Tongue, selected by the African Poetry Book Fund, in collaboration with Akashic Bo...
Safia Elhillo
Safia Elhillo 0000000464340864 Safia Elhillo, author of 'The January Children', is a celebrated Sudanese-American poet. She's notable for her 2016 Sillerman First Book Prize, 2018 Arab American Book ...
Nathan McClain
Nathan McClain NONE Nathan McClain is the author of Scale, a recipient of fellowships from The Frost Place, Sewanee Writers' Conference, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and a graduate of the M.F.A. ...
Steven Leyva
Steven Leyva NONE Steven Leyva was born in New Orleans and raised in Houston, Texas. He is a Cave Canem fellow and author of Low Parish (a chapbook) and the collection The Understudy’s Handbook, whi...
Chekwube Danladi
Chekwube Danladi NONE Chekwube Danladi, author of award-winning 'Semiotics', is a celebrated writer with backing from numerous literary institutions. Known for her chapbook 'Take Me Back', she's a ...
Kamau Daa’ood
Kamau Daa’ood NONE Kamau Daa’ood is a Los Angeles-based performance poet, educator, and community arts activist. Known for his award-winning documentary, Life is a Saxophone, he's authored two poetry...
John Oliver Killens
John Oliver Killens 0000000081741003 “The Godfather of the Black Arts Movement” John Oliver Killens was an important figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, Killens was a close ...
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton MULTIPLE John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (1911-1990) was a pioneering African-American sociologist and anthropologist, known for documenting 1960s social turmoil, esta...
Jason Wilson
Jason Wilson 0000000109296299 Jason Wilson, founder and CEO of the Yunion, a non-profit youth organization, has impacted over 15,000 youth since 2003 through prevention programming and parental engag...
John O’Neal
John O’Neal NONE John O'Neal, co-founder of the Free Southern Theater and Junebug Productions, is a prominent playwright and activist. His work, which spans over 50 years, focuses on reviving the mem...
Keith Mallett
Keith Mallett 0000000033964456 Keith Duncan Mallett, born in 1948, is a prominent artist trained in New York City. He spent 15 years as the in-house artist for Frontline Art Publishers and now works ...
Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley 0000000083304069 Ex-pro basketball player, Charles Barkley, now an NBA analyst for TNT’s Inside the NBA, boasts 11 All-Star Game appearances, All-Star MVP, 1993's league MVP, and is n...
Chaun Webster
Chaun Webster NONE Chaun Webster, a poet, publisher, and graphic designer, is influenced by the Black Arts Movement, Jazz, and Graffiti. He founded Free Poet’s Press in 2009 to encourage art producti...
George Lamming
George Lamming 0000000114972132 George William Lamming (1927-2022) was a renowned Barbadian novelist and critic, celebrated for his exploration of colonialism and identity in the 20th century Caribbe...
Anne Spencer
Anne Spencer 0000000458445176 Anne Bannister Spencer was a lauded American poet, civil rights activist, and librarian during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1882, she was the first African-American w...