Ross Gay: Poetry

Introduction

Ross Gay (born August 1, 1974) is an American poet, essayist, and professor who won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his 2014 book Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry.

Life

Ross Gay was born on August 1, 1974, in Youngstown, Ohio, but he grew up in Levittown, Pennsylvania.[1]

He received his B.A. from Lafayette College, his MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College,[2] and his Ph.D. in American Literature from Temple University.

He is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin'. He is also an editor with the chapbook presses Q Avenue and Ledge Mule Press. He is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project.

He has taught poetry, art, and literature at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and Montclair State University in New Jersey. He now teaches at Indiana University Bloomington and the low-residency MFA in poetry program at Drew University.[3][4]

His poems have appeared in literary journals and magazines including The American Poetry Review; Harvard Review; Columbia: A Journal of Poetry; Art, Margie: The American Journal of Poetry; and Atlanta Review. His poetry has also appeared in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009).[5] His essays have appeared in The Paris Review.

His honors include being a Cave Canem Workshop fellow and a Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Tuition Scholar, and he received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.[6][7]

Awards and honors
Year Title Award Category Result Ref.
2015 Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude National Book Award Poetry Shortlisted [8]
National Book Critics Circle Award Poetry Won [9]
2016 The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award Won [10]
NAACP Image Awards Poetry Nominated [11]
Ohioana Book Award Poetry Shortlisted
2020 The Book of Delights Indiana Authors Award Nonfiction Won [12]
2021 Be Holding: A Poem Ohioana Book Award Poetry Shortlisted
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Won [13]
2022 Indiana Authors Award Poetry Won [14]
2023 Inciting Joy: Essays Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Memoir/Biography Won [15]
Ohioana Book Award Nonfiction Won
2024 The Book of (More) Delights: Essays Ohioana Book Award Nonfiction Shortlisted
Works
  • Against Which. CavanKerry Press. October 2006. ISBN 9781933880006.
  • Bringing the Shovel Down. University of Pittsburgh Press. January 23, 2011. ISBN 9780822991199.
  • With Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens. Organic Weapon Arts. 2014. ISBN 9780982710678.
  • River. Monster House Press. December 1, 2014.
  • Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. University of Pittsburgh Press. January 16, 2015. ISBN 9780822963318.
  • The Book of Delights: Essays. Algonquin Books. February 12, 2019. ISBN 9781616207922.
  • Be Holding. University of Pittsburgh Press. September 8, 2020. ISBN 9780822966234.
  • Inciting Joy: Essays. Algonquin Books. October 25, 2022. ISBN 9781643753041.
  • The Book of (More) Delights: Essays. Algonquin Books. September 19, 2023. ISBN 9781643753096.

In anthology

  • Melissa Tuckey, ed. (2018). Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820353159.
Appearances on reality television shows
  • A Dating Story, Episode 110: Jason, Brooke and Ross
See also
  • American poetry
  • 21st century in poetry
References
  1. ^ "The Southeast Review > Antidote to Distraction: An Interview with Ross Gay". Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Lafayette College > Alumni News > Ross Gay '96 Returns to Help Students". Archived from the original on September 2, 2006. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  3. ^ "Indiana University > IU Newsroom > October 15, 2009 > IU Poet Ross Gay Shares His 'Waves of Inspiration' ". Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  4. ^ "Indiana University - Bloomington > Department of English Faculty > Ross Gay". Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  5. ^ "Persea Books Website > "From the Fishouse" Book Page". Archived from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  6. ^ "Interview: The Cortland Review > Issue 41, November 2008 > A Conversation with Ross Gay by Joanna Penn Cooper". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  7. ^ "Indiana University > IU Newsroom > October 15, 2009 > IU Poet Ross Gay Shares His 'Waves of Inspiration' ". Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  8. ^ "2015 National Book Awards". www.nationalbook.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Alexandra Alter (March 17, 2016). "'The Sellout' Wins National Book Critics Circle's Fiction Award". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  10. ^ "Previous Winners & Finalists — Tufts Poetry Awards". Tufts Poetry Awards. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "2016 Image Winners". Variety. February 6, 2016. Archived from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  12. ^ "2020 Honorees". Indiana Authors Awards. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  13. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "2022 Awards". Indiana Authors Awards. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "2023 Legacy Award Winners". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
External links
  • Official website
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ross Gay. Wikiquote has quotations related to Ross Gay.

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