Gregory Pardlo (born November 24, 1968) is an American poet, writer, and professor. His book ''Digest'' won the 2015

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 ...

. His poems, reviews, and translations have appeared in ''

The American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizabet ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Poet Lore'', ''

Harvard Review ''Harvard Review'' is a biannual literary journal published by Houghton Library at Harvard University. History In 1986 Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, founded a quarterly periodical called ''Erato''. ...

'', ''

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. ...

'', and on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

.GWU English Faculty Page
/ref> His work has been praised for its “language simultaneously urban and highbrow… snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal.”

Life and work

Pardlo's first volume of poems, ''Totem'', was chosen by

Brenda Hillman Brenda Hillman (born March 27, 1951 in Tucson, Arizona) is an American poet and translator. She is the author of ten collections of poetry: ''White Dress'', ''Fortress'', ''Death Tractates'', ''Bright Existence'', ''Loose Sugar'', ''Cascadia'', '' ...

as the winner of the 2007 ''American Poetry Review'' / Honickman First Book Prize, distributed by

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 ...

. The manuscript for ''Totem'' was also a semifinalist for the

Walt Whitman Award 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 ...

from 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 outreach ...

, a finalist for the

National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program. Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and cho ...

, and a finalist for the inaugural ''Essence'' Magazine Literary Award in Poetry. Pardlo is the translator of the full-length poetry collection ''Pencil of Rays and Spike Mace'' by Danish poet Niels Lyngsø. Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pardlo grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey. His younger brother is

Robbie Pardlo Robbie or Robby is a surname. It is usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob or Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. People Given name Robbie * Robbie Amell (born ...

, an American musician formerly of R&B group

City High City High was an American R&B/ hip hop trio consisting of rappers/singers Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo, and Claudette Ortiz. City High is best known for their song " What Would You Do?", which earned a Grammy nomination. Career In 2001, City Hig ...

. His father, Gregory Pardlo Sr., is a former

air traffic controller Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...

who participated in the air traffic controllers' strike of 1981. Gregory Pardlo received his BA in English from

Rutgers University-Camden Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, an MFA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

as a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Fellow in Poetry, and an MFA in nonfiction from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

; he is also a doctoral candidate in English at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...

. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowships to professionals who have demonstrated exceptional ...

, the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

, the

Cave Canem Foundation Cave Canem Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1996 by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady to remedy the underrepresentation and isolation of African-American poets in Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs and writing work ...

, the MacDowell Artist's Colony, the Seaside Institute, the

Lotos Club The Lotos Club was founded in 1870 as a gentlemen's club in New York City; it has since also admitted women as members. Its founders were primarily a young group of writers and critics. Mark Twain, an early member, called it the "Ace of Clubs" ...

Foundation, and

, as well as a translation grant from the

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 ...

."Written By Himself"
''The American Poetry Review''. Pardlo's poem “Written by Himself” appeared in ''

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 ...

2010'' anthology series edited by

David Lehman David Lehman (born June 11, 1948David Lehman
at poets.org) is an American poet, non-fiction writer, and li ...

and

Amy Gerstler Amy Gerstler (born 1956) is an American poet. She won a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography Amy Gerstler was born in 1956. She is a graduate of Pitzer College and holds an M.F.A. from Bennington Co ...

, following initial publication in ''

''. His poem "Wishing Well" appeared in ''The Best American Poetry 2014'', guest edited by

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In September 2014, he was one of 21 recipient ...

, following initial publication i
''Painted Bride Quarterly''
Pardlo serves as an Associate Editor for the literary journal ''Callaloo''. He has led writing workshops for the

PEN American Center PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922 and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of liter ...

, ''American Poetry Review'' / Young Voices Program, The Frost Place Conference, ''Callaloo'' Creative Writer's Workshop, and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

’s Calabash International Literary Festival, among others. He is a Teaching Fellow at

. In 2016, Pardlo accepted a tenure-track faculty position with the English department at his alma mater, Rutgers University-Camden. He has previously taught at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educato ...

The New School University The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinker ...

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal art ...

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...

, and NYU.

Awards and honors

* 2015 Winner
Pulitzer Prize for poetry
for ''Digest'' * 2014 Selection, ''The Best American Poetry 2014'' for "Wishing Well" * 2010 Selection, ''The Best American Poetry 2010'' for "Written by Himself" * 2008 Finalist, ''Essence'' Magazine Literary Award in Poetry for ''Totem'' * 2008 Selection, ''Coldfront'' Magazine Best First Books of 2007 for ''Totem'' * 2008 Nominee,

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

* 2007 Winner, ''American Poetry Review'' / Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry for ''Totem'' * 2007 Finalist, National Poetry Series for ''Totem'' * 2007 Semifinalist, Academy of American Poets Walt Whitman Award for ''Totem'' * 2005 Finalist, Cave Cavem Book Prize * 2004 Winner, Lotos Club Foundation Award for Creative Writing * 2003 Nominee, Pushcart Prize * 2001 Honorable Mention, New Millennium Writings Prize

Published works

Full-length poetry collections

* ''Totem'' (Copper Canyon Press, 2007), * ''Digest'' (Four Way Books, 2014), 2015 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
/ref>

Memoir

*''Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America'' (Knopf, 2018),

Translations

''Pencil of Rays and Spiked Mace''
(from the Danish of Niels Lyngsø; BookThug, 2004),

Anthologized writings

“Written by Himself”
''The Best American Poetry 2010'' (Scribner, 2010)
“Marginalia”
''So Much Things to Say: 100 Poets from the First Ten Years of the Calabash International Literary Festival'' (Akashic Books, 2010)
“Double Dutch”
''From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great'' (Persea Press, 2009)
“Man Reading in Bed by a Window with Bugs”
''Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry'' (University of Georgia Press, 2009)
“Winter After the Strike”
''Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem’s First Decade'' (University of Michigan Press, 2006) * “Arsonist” and “Future as Evaporation”, ''Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art'' (Third World Press, 2002)
“Harvest: A Line Drawing”
''Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam'' (Three Rivers Press, 2001)

Selected prose

“Revisiting the Racial Mountain”
(PEN American Center, 2010)

(''Painted Bride Quarterly'' #75, 2006) *
'Hurrah for Schoelcher!'
(''Drunken Boat'' 20, 2014)

References

External links

Gregory Pardlo website
* Tammy Paolino
"Poems, perspective and a Pulitzer"
''Courier-Post'', June 12, 2015 * Erica Wright
"Gregory Pardlo: The Poem as Pursuit" (interview)
''Guernica'', March 10, 2015
Gregory Pardlo on ''Totem''
CUNY Radio podcast

''GWU English News'', Department of English, George Washington University

GWU English News
Audio: Poems & Discussion
From the Fishouse: an audio archive of emerging poets
Audio: Poets.org

Three Poems
''The Awl''
"Gregpry Pardlo: How to pretend you've read a book you haven't"

Literary Hub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conte ...

, April 11, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pardlo, Gregory 1968 births Living people American male poets Writers from Philadelphia People from Willingboro Township, New Jersey Columbia University alumni New York University alumni Rutgers University alumni Graduate Center, CUNY alumni Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners 21st-century American poets Poets from Pennsylvania Poets from New Jersey George Washington University faculty Medgar Evers College faculty The New School faculty John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty Hunter College faculty New York University faculty Columbia University faculty 21st-century American translators Danish–English translators 21st-century American male writers