Simone White (born 1972) is an American poet,

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, and assistant professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 2017, she won a

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard E ...

for poetry. Much of her writing style is a hybrid between poetry and prose.

Biography

White was born in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, and grew up in Philadelphia. She has a BA from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

and earned a JD from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1997. She practiced law for seven years after graduation. Since then, she has also earned an MFA from

The New School 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 thinkers. ...

and a PhD in English from the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the ...

. She was a visiting associate professor at the

University of Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

in Spring 2018. As of 2020, she is an assistant professor in the English department at the University of Pennsylvania.

Honors and awards

White was award a Whiting Award for Poetry in 2017. She was selected as a "New American Poet" by the Poetry Society of America in 2013.

Bibliography

Poetry

*''Dear Angel of Death'',

Ugly Duckling Presse Ugly Duckling Presse is an American nonprofit art and publishing collective based in Brooklyn, New York City founded in 1993 by Matvei Yankelevich as a college zine. It publishes poetry, translations, lost works, and artist's books. A micro pre ...

, 2018 *''Of Being Dispersed'',

Futurepoem Books Futurepoem Books is an American not-for-profit publishing, press based in New York City. Futurepoem was founded by Dan Machlin in 2002 and focuses on publishing innovative poetry, prose and hybrid literature. The press has a rotating editorial bo ...

, 2016 *''House of Envy of All the World'', 2010 *''Unrest'', Ugly Duckling Presse, 2013 (chapbook) *''Dolly'' (with illustrations by Kim Thomas), Q Ave Press, 2008

Articles

Vince Staples by Simone White
''Bomb Magazine''

References

External links

WebsitePoetry Foundation profile
1972 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people University of Pennsylvania faculty Harvard Law School alumni The New School alumni CUNY Graduate Center alumni African-American poets People from Middletown, Connecticut Wesleyan University alumni {{US-poet-1970s-stub