Kevin Young (born November 8, 1970) 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 the director of the Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

since 2021. Author of 11 books and editor of eight others, Young previously served as Director of the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) b ...

at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. A winner of a

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 ...

as well as a finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

for his 2003 collection '' Jelly Roll: A Blues'', Young was Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing at

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 ...

and curator of Emory's Raymond Danowski Poetry Library. In March 2017, Young was named poetry editor of ''

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 ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, Young was the only child of two working parents, his father, Dr. Paul E. Young, was an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

and his mother, Dr. Azzie Young, a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

. Due to the careers of both of his parents, his family moved frequently throughout his youth. Young lived in six different places before he reached the age of ten, but his family ultimately settled in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

. He first began to pursue writing when he was thirteen years old, after he attended a summer writing class at

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...

. Young attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, where he studied with

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

and

Lucie Brock-Broido Lucie Brock-Broido (May 22, 1956 – March 6, 2018) was an American author of four collections of poetry. Biography She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, she was Director of Poetry in the Writ ...

and became friends with writer

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awa ...

. He graduated in 1992, then held a Stegner Fellowship at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

(1992–94), where he worked with

Denise Levertov Priscilla Denise Levertov (24 October 1923 – 20 December 1997) was a British-born naturalised American poet. She was a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry. Early life and influences Levertov was born and grew up in Ilford, Ess ...

. He received his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where

Michael S. Harper Michael Steven Harper (March 18, 1938 – May 7, 2016) was an American poet and English professor at Brown University, who was the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island from 1988 to 1993. His poetry was influenced by jazz and history. Among the infl ...

served as a significant influence.

Career

While in Boston and Providence, he was part of the African-American poetry group the

Dark Room Collective The Dark Room Collective was an influential African-American poetry collective. Established in 1988, the collective hosted a reading series that featured leading figures in Black literature. Founding and activities After attending the funeral of ...

. He is heavily influenced by the poets

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

, and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

and by the artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

. Young wrote much of his debut collection, ''Most Way Home,'' while still an undergraduate. Published by William Morrow in 1995, ''Most Way Home'' was selected by

Lucille Clifton Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936 – February 13, 2010) was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Clifton was a finalist twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Li ...

for the National Poetry Series and won ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

'' John C. Zacharis First Book Award. Writing in ''Ploughshares'', Rob Arnold observes that in that first book Young "explores his own family's narratives, showing an uncanny awareness of voice and persona." Young has described his next three books – ''To Repel Ghosts'' (named for a

painting)'', Jelly Roll'' (a collection of love poems named for

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

)'','' and ''Black Maria'' – as an "American trilogy", calling the series ''Devil's Music.'' Young's collection ''The Book of Hours'' (Knopf, 2014) won the 2015

Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

. Young is also the author of ''For The Confederate Dead, Dear Darkness'', ''Blues Laws: Selected and Uncollected Poems 1995–2015'' (2016) and editor of ''Giant Steps: The New Generation of African American Writers'' (2000)'', Blues Poems'' (2003)'', Jazz Poems'' (2006), and ''John Berryman's Selected Poems'' (2004). His poem "Black Cat Blues," originally published in ''

The Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', was included in ''

The Best American Poetry 2005 ''The Best American Poetry 2005'', a volume in ''The Best American Poetry series'', was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Paul Muldoon. The volume is "one of the series' best books in years", according to Maureen N. McLane, reviewing the ...

''. Young's poetry has also appeared in ''

'', ''

Poetry Magazine ''Poetry'' (founded as ''Poetry: A Magazine of Verse'') has been published in Chicago since 1912. It is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Founded by Harriet Monroe, it is now published by the Poetry Foundat ...

'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', ''

'', and other literary magazines. In 2007, he served as guest editor for an issue of ''

''. He has written on art and artists for museums in Los Angeles and Minneapolis. His 2003 book of poems ''Jelly Roll'' was a finalist for the

. Young was named a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow in 2003, as well as an NEA Literature Fellow in Poetry. After stints at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, Young taught writing at

, where he was the Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing, as well as the curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, a large collection of first and rare editions of poetry in English. In September 2016, Young became the Director of the

at the

. In March 2017, he was named poetry editor of ''

'', to begin in November 2017. Young is working on two books: a non-fiction book called '' Bunk'' on the U.S. history of lies and hoaxes, and a poetry collection that he has described as being "about African American history and also personal history, growing up in Kansas, which has a long black history including Langston Hughes and others." In September 2020, he was named director of the

National Museum of African-American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

, to begin in January 2021. Elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

, and the

Society of American Historians The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and honors literary distinction in the writing of history and biography about American topics. The approximately 300 members include professional historians, independent scholars, jou ...

,Young was also named a Chancellor of the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

in 2020.

Personal life

Young lives in New York. He married Kate Tuttle, book columnist at ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' in 2005.

Awards

* 1992:

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 ...

, Thomas T. Hoopes Prize for ''Most Way Home'' (Thesis/dissertation) * 1993: National Poetry Series (selection) by

for ''Most Way Home'' * 1993: ''

'', John C. Zacharis First Book Prize for ''Most Way Home'' * 2003: Patterson Poetry Prize * 2003:

(Poetry) (finalist) for ''Jelly Roll'' * 2003: ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Book Prize (Poetry) (finalist) for ''Jelly Roll'' * 2003:

* 2007: Patterson Poetry Prize for Sustained Literary Achievement * 2007:

Quill Awards The Quill Award was an American literary award that ran for three years in 2005-2007. It was a "consumer-driven award created to inspire reading while promoting literacy." The Quills Foundation, the organization behind the Quill Award, was suppor ...

(Poetry) for ''For the Confederate Dead'' * 2009:

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

, Fellow Award * 2009: Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize (Poetry) for ''Dear Darkness'' * 2013:

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".PEN/Open Book PEN/Open Book (known as the Beyond Margins Award through 2009) is a program intended to foster racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities, and works to establish access for diverse literary groups to the publishing i ...

for ''

The Grey Album ''The Grey Album'' is a mashup album by Danger Mouse, released in 2004. It mixes an a cappella version of rapper Jay-Z's '' The Black Album'' with samples from the Beatles' self-titled ninth album, commonly known as "The White Album". ''The ...

'' * 2014:

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...

Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards are a pair of American prizes based at Claremont Graduate University. They are given to poets for their collections of poetry written in the English language, by a citizen or legal resident alien of the ...

for ''Book of Hours'' * 2015: Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award (Poetry) for ''Book of Hours'' * 2015:

for ''Book of Hours'' * 2016:

* 2016:

, Autobiography/Biography (Hardcover) (longlisted) for ''Blue Laws'' * 2017:

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 ...

in Nonfiction for ''Bunk'' * 2017:

Georgia Writers Hall of Fame The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame honors writers who have made significant contributions to the literary legacy of the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Established in 2000 by the University of Georgia Libraries’ Hargrett Rare Book and Manu ...

Inductee * 2017:

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".T. S. Eliot Prize The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...

(shortlist) for ''Stones''

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Anthologies (edited) * * * * * * ;List of poems

Non-fiction

Theses and dissertations

References

External links

* *
Kevin Young reading at the Key West Literary Seminar, 2008

Biography
at poets.org
Reading his poem "Elegy, Father's Day"
on Slate.com
Levi Rubeck reviews Kevin Young's book ''Ardency''

Kevin Young Interview
''failbetter'', October 6, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Kevin 1970 births Living people Poets from Nebraska Harvard College alumni University of Georgia faculty Indiana University faculty Emory University faculty Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska The New Yorker editors American literary critics Brown University alumni African-American poets New York Public Library people American Book Award winners 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Poets from Kansas Writers from Topeka, Kansas 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences