Kwame Dawes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kwame Dawes
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Dawes at Split This Rock, 2018
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| Born | Kwame Senu Neville Dawes 28 July 1962 Ghana |
| Occupation | Poet, documentary writer, editor, critic |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Education | Jamaica College; University of the West Indies; University of New Brunswick |
| Spouse | Lorna Dawes |
| Parents | Sophia and Neville Dawes |
Kwame Senu Neville Dawes (born July 28, 1962) is a well-known Ghanaian poet, editor, and musician. He used to be a professor at the University of South Carolina.
Today, he is a Professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also the main editor for Prairie Schooner magazine.
In 2011, a group called Poets & Writers gave Dawes an award. This award celebrates writers who help other writers or the wider writing community. In 2022, he was named "literary Person of the Year" by the African literary blog Brittle Paper. This honor goes to someone who has done great work to help African literature.
In April 2024, Kwame Dawes was chosen as the new poet laureate of Jamaica. A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed to write poems for special events or occasions.
Contents
About Kwame Dawes
His Early Life and School
Kwame Dawes was born in Ghana in 1962. His parents are Sophia and Neville Dawes. In 1971, when Kwame was nine, his family moved to Kingston, Jamaica. His father became a leader at the Institute of Jamaica.
Growing up in Jamaica, Kwame went to Jamaica College. He then studied at the University of the West Indies in Mona. He earned his first degree there in 1983.
Later, he studied and taught in New Brunswick, Canada. He had a special scholarship called a Commonwealth Scholarship. In 1992, he earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of New Brunswick. While there, he was the main editor of the student newspaper, The Brunswickan.
His Career and Achievements
From 1992 to 2012, Dawes taught English at the University of South Carolina (USC). He was a special poet there and led the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He also directed the USC Arts Institute.
In 1994, he won the Forward Poetry Prize for his first poetry book, Progeny of Air.
Today, he is a top English professor and editor-in-chief of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also teaches at the Cave Canem Foundation and in a special writing program in Oregon.
Kwame Dawes worked with writer and composer Kevin Simmonds. They created a music project called Wisteria: Twilight Songs from the Swamp Country. It was first performed in London in 2006.
In 2009, Dawes won an Emmy Award. This award was for a project that showed how HIV/AIDS affected people in Jamaica. The project used poetry, photos, and music. You can see this project on the website Livehopelove.com.
Dawes also directs the Calabash International Literary Festival. This is a big yearly event for writers in Jamaica.
In 2012, he became the first editor of the African Poetry Book Fund. This fund helps publish books by African poets. It helps new writers and also publishes works by famous African poets.
In 2016, a special event called Respect Due celebrated Kwame Dawes's work. Many famous writers took part. One writer, Lorna Goodison, said that Kwame "moves with ease and authority between multiple worlds."
In 2018, Dawes was chosen as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2019, he won the Windham-Campbell Prize. This is a major award for writers.
In 2021, Dawes started hosting the poetry column American Life in Poetry. He took over from Ted Kooser.
In April 2024, Kwame Dawes was named the poet laureate of Jamaica for three years.
Awards and Honours
- 1994: Forward Poetry Prize (Best First Collection)
- 1996: Individual Artist Fellowship
- 2000: Poetry Business Prize
- 2000: Hollis Summers Poetry Prize
- 2001: Pushcart Prize for Poetry (US)
- 2003: Commonwealth Writers Prize (Caribbean and Canada Region, Best First Book)
- 2009: Emmy Award – New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture
- 2019: Windham–Campbell Literature Prize in Poetry
- 2022: Brittle Paper's Literary Person of the Year
- 2024–2027: Poet laureate of Jamaica
His Published Works
Kwame Dawes has written many books, including poetry, novels, and non-fiction.
Poetry Books
- Progeny of Air, Peepal Tree Press, 1994, ISBN: 978-0-948833-68-7
- Resisting the Anomie, Fredericton, 1995, ISBN: 978-0-864921-47-5
- Prophets, Peepal Tree Press, 1995, ISBN: 978-0-948833-85-4
- Jacko Jacobus, Peepal Tree Press, 1996, ISBN: 978-1-900715-06-5
- Requiem, Peepal Tree Press, 1996, ISBN: 978-1-900715-07-2
- Shook Foil, Peepal Tree Press, 1997, ISBN: 978-1-900715-14-0
- Map-Maker Smith/Doorstop Books, 2000, ISBN: 978-1-902382-18-0
- New and Selected Poems, 1994–2002, Peepal Tree Press, 2003, ISBN: 978-1-900715-70-6
- Bruised Totems, Parallel Press Madison, 2004, ISBN: 978-1-893311-48-0
- I Saw Your Face, with Tom Feelings, Dial Books, 2005, ISBN: 978-0-803718-94-4
- Wisteria: Twilight Songs from the Swamp Country, Red Hen Press, 2006, ISBN: 978-1-597090-59-9
- Impossible Flying, Peepal Tree Press, 2007, ISBN: 978-1-845230-39-5
- Hope's Hospice, Peepal Tree Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-845230-78-4
- Back of Mount Peace, Peepal Tree Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-84523-124-8
- Wheels, Peepal Tree Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-84523-142-2
- Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems, Copper Canyon Press, 2013, ISBN: 978-1-55659-423-6
- Speak from Here to There, with John Kinsella, Peepal Tree Press, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-845233-19-8
- City of Bones: A Testament, Northwestern University Press, 2017, ISBN: 978-0810134-62-1
Novels
- Bivouac, Peepal Tree Press Ltd, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-84523-105-7
Short Stories
- A Place to Hide and Other Stories, Peepal Tree Press, 2003, ISBN: 978-1-900715-48-5
Non-Fiction Books
- Natural Mysticism: Towards a Reggae Aesthetic, Peepal Tree Press, 1999, ISBN: 978-1-900715-22-5
- Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius, Sanctuary, 2002, ISBN: 978-1-86074-433-4
- A Far Cry from Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative, Peepal Tree Press, 2007, ISBN: 978-1-845230-25-8
See also
- Caribbean literature
- Caribbean poetry
- American literature
