Education
He graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with an Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
He graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with an Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.
He has received fellowships from the Cave Canem Workshop, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and United States Artists. His most recent book of poetry, The Big Smoke, was published by Penguin in 2013 and is about Jack Johnson. His work has appeared in literary journals and magazines including American Poetry Review, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, and in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009) and The Best American Poetry 2010 (Scribner, 2010).
He teaches literature and creative writing at Indiana University.
2015 United States Artists Simon Fellowship.
2015 United States Artists Simon Fellowship 2014 Lannan Literary Fellowship 2014 Guggenheim Fellowship 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Award 2014 Pulitzer Prize, Finalist 2013 National Book Award, Finalist 2011 Lannan Foundation Residency Fellowship 2009 Illinois Arts Council 2008 National Poetry Series 2002 New York / New England Award.