Author bios Flashcards
African-American writer, 1928-2014. An author of poetry, plays, movies, and creative nonfiction, The author was best known for their memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Their work focuses on themes of identity, family, and race. The author recited their poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of Bill Clinton and was awarded both the Presidential and National Medal of Arts in 2000.
Maya Angelou
Contemporary American poet. They were appointed Poet Laureate of the U.S from 2001-2003. Their poems are known for being accessible and often humorous. They has written 15 poetry collections, including The Trouble with poetry and Voyage.
Billy Collin’s
Contemporary native American poet. The author was born in the Fort Mojave Indian Village. They are the author of two poetry collections; When My Brother Was an Aztec, winner of an American book reward, and Postcolonial Love Poem, winner of the Pulitzer prize in poetry. In addition to receiving numerous fellowships and awards, they were elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. The author teaches in the MFA program at ASU
Natalie Diaz
Contemporary African-American poet. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for their verse-novel Thomas and Beulah and was a National Book finalist for On the Bus with Rosa Parks. Their poetry is known for its lyricism as well as its sense of history. The author was named US Poet Laureate in 1993 when they were 40 years old and was the youngest poet ever to hold that position; the author was also the first African-American U.S Poet Laureate.
Rita Dove
Contemporary African-American poet. They recited their poem “The Hill we Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, making them the youngest inaugural poet in U.S history. They are the first ever National Youth Poet Laureate as well as the first poet commissioned to write a poem to be performed at the Super Bowl. They have published a children’s book and two collections of poetry. Their work focuses on feminism, race, and marginalization.
Amanda Gorman
American writer, 1928-2018. The author authored over 40 books. In 2006, they were selected as U.S Poet Laureate. Much of their poetry is about ordinary life. The author is known for being married to poet jane Kenyon who died of leukemia. They wrote about her death in their book Without.
Donald Hall
Contemporary American poet. They have published several collections of poetry, including tasker street, which won the Juniper Prize. They are a confessional poet known for their conversational and humorous writing. They were awarded the Rome Fellowship in Literature, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Foundation Writer’s Award.
Mark Halliday
Constance and Let Evening Come. Many of their poems are about dealing with depression. They died of leukemia
Jane Kenyon
English writer, 1865-1936. A journalist, poet, and short story writer, they are best remembered for their children’s books and bildungsroman subject matter. They were born in India, but spent time in both England and America, where they wrote The Jungle Books. The author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.
Rudyard Kipling
Chilean poet, 1904-1973. They won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. They are most famous for writing love poems, including the poetry books twenty love poems and a song of despair and 100 love sonnets, but they also wrote political poems and was a vocal critic of the dictator Pinochet. They wrote their poems in Spanish
Pablo Neruda
German-American poet, 1924-2020. The author won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer prize. Their work is accessible but often has an underlying sadness. They wrote twelve books of poems, including Reading the Brothers Grimm to Jenny, The Need to Hold Still, and Alive Together.
Lisel Mueller
Contemporary Arab-American writer. Their father is Palestinian and much of their work is about their experience as an Arab-American. Their books of poems include You and Yours and Fuel. They were elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2009.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Contemporary African-American poet. They received the 2012 Holmes National Poetry Prize as well as the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry. Their books of poetry include The Gorgon Goddess, a half-red sea, and the new black. The author teaches African-American Literature and Creative Writing at Rutgers University.
Evie Shockley
Contemporary Mexican-American poet. They were the first Mexican-American to receive an MFA. The author has written 13 books of poetry, including Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing, and more than 20 children’s books, including A Fire in My Hands. They also wrote Nerdlandia, a Latino rendition of Grease, for the Los Angeles Opera.
Gary Soto
Contemporary American poet. The author was born in virginia and currently lives in Vermont. Their poems often focus on motherhood, the rural South, and music. They has written multiple collections of poetry, including Headwaters. They served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets for 6 years.
Ellen Bryant Voigt
