Poetry
Kwame Dawes is one of the most important writers of his generation who has built a mighty and lasting body of work. —Elizabeth Alexander
Majestic is the word that comes to mind reading the finely wrought poems of Kwame Dawes… a sublime talent is needed to fashion poems of such capacious grace and energy. —Terrance Hayes
Kwame Dawes is the author of numerous books of poetry and other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. His most recent collection is Sturge Town (W.W. Norton, 2024). Dawes is Professor of Literary Arts at Brown University. He teaches in the Pacific MFA Program and is the Series Editor of the African Poetry Book Series, Director of the African Poetry Book Fund, and Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. He is a former Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Kwame Dawes is the winner of the prestigious Windham/Campbell Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In 2022 Dawes was awarded the Order of Distinction Commander class by the Government of Jamaica. He is the Poet Laureate of Jamaica (2024-2027). Born in Ghana and raised in Jamaica, he currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island.