Jericho Brown (born April 14, 1976) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and writer. Born and raised in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, Brown has worked as an educator at institutions such as

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, and

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. His poems have been published in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', ''

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College. It was established in 1978 by Sydney Lea and Jay Parini. From 1982 till 1990, the magazine was named ''New England Review & Bread Loaf Quart ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

'', and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', among others. He released his first book of prose and poetry, ''Please'', in 2008. His second book, ''The New Testament'', was released in 2014. His 2019 collection of poems, ''

The Tradition The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlike the U.S. Senior Op ...

'', garnered widespread critical acclaim. Brown has won several accolades throughout his career, including a Whiting Award, an

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

, an

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

, and the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

Life

Born Nelson Demery III and raised in

, Brown later changed his name and graduated from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

, where he was initiated as a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity, through the Beta Phi chapter, in the fall of 1995. He also graduated from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

with an MFA, and from the

with a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

. Brown was a teaching fellow in the English department at the University of Houston from 2002 to 2007, a visiting professor at

's MFA program in spring 2009, and an assistant professor of English at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

. He has also taught at numerous conferences and workshops, including the

Iowa Summer Writing Festival Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He is an associate professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Program at

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Previously, he worked as a speechwriter for the mayor of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. In 2011, Brown received the 2011

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Fellowship for Poetry. His poems have appeared in ''

The Iowa Review ''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews. History and profile Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origin ...

'', ''

jubilat ''jubilat'' is a widely distributed, highly acclaimed American poetry and prose journal headquartered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. First published in 2000, it was founded by Rob Casper, Christian Hawkey, Michael Teig and Kelly LeF ...

'', ''

'', '' Enkare Review'', and ''

The Best American Poetry ''The Best American Poetry'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems. Background The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the general ...

''. He serves as an Assistant Editor at ''

Callaloo Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...

''. His first book, ''Please'' (

New Issues Poetry & Prose New Issues Poetry & Prose is a literary press associated with Western Michigan University. It was founded by poet and Western Michigan University professor Herbert S. Scott. Editors have included poets William Olsen and Nancy Eimers. The Huffin ...

, 2008), won the

. His second book, a book of poetry titled ''The New Testament'' (

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both popu ...

, 2014), won the 2015

. Brown's third book, a collection of poems titled ''

'' (Copper Canyon Press, 2019), garnered widespread critical acclaim and won the

Awards

* 2020

* 2016

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

* 2015

* 2011

Fellowship for Poetry * 2009

* 2009 Whiting Award * 2009–2010 fellowship at the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is a part of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Works

; Books * ''Please'' (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2008). * ''The New Testament'' (

, 2014). * ''

'' (Copper Canyon Press, 2019). ; Poems
"Thrive"
''Oxford American'', October 2014
"Elegy"
''Rumpus'', May 2009

''AGNI'', March 2007
"To Be Seen"
''The Missouri Review'', April 30, 2008

References

External links

*
'Love in Contemporary American Gay Male Poetry in the Works of Richard Siken, Eduardo C Corral and Jericho Brown'
Simeon Kronenberg, ''Cordite Poetry Review'' (2015).
"Profile at The Whiting Foundation"

''Boxcar Poetry Review'', September 2009
"Naming Each Place"
''Southern Spaces'', March 4, 2010

''The Best American Poetry''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Jericho 21st-century American poets African-American poets Dillard University alumni American gay writers LGBT African Americans American LGBT poets Living people University of Houston alumni University of New Orleans alumni University of San Diego faculty Poets from Louisiana American male poets American Book Award winners 21st-century American male writers Emory University faculty National Endowment for the Arts Fellows The Believer (magazine) people Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana LGBT people from Louisiana 1976 births People with HIV/AIDS Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people African-American male writers