Education
After his baseball career, Wright studied comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and Rutgers University.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Jay Wright
Edit ProfileCareer
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he currently lives in Bradford, Vermont. Although his work is not as widely known as other American poets of his generation, it has received considerable critical acclaim. Before embarking on his writing career, Wright played professional baseball, mostly with the Mexicali Eagles of the Arizona-Texas League, and the Fresno Cardinals of the California League.
In the 1960s, he befriended fellow African-American author Henry Dumas and later wrote the introduction to Dumas"s Play Ebony, Play Ivory: Poetry.
Over the years Wright has been poet in residence at Yale University as well as the University of Dundee and historically black colleges and universities such as Talladega College, Tougaloo College, Texas Southern University.
Achievements
-
1986 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (or "Genius") Fellowship 1996 Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets 2001 L.L. Winship/Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists association New England Award, Transfigurations: Collected Poems 2005 Bollingen Prize in Poetry, becoming the first African-American writer to be so honored 2006 American Book Award Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.
-
Born
-
Nationality
United States
Awards
-
Guggenheim Fellowship; MacArthur Fellowship; Bollingen Prize; Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award Bollingen Prize; Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets; American Book award; Lifetime Achievement Award 1986 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (or "Genius") Fellowship 1996 Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets 2001 L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award, Transfigurations: Collected Poems 2005 Bollingen Prize in Poetry, becoming the first African-American writer to be so honored 2006 American Book Award Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. The Bollingen Prize for Poetry is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.Guggenheim Fellowship; MacArthur Fellowship; Bollingen Prize; Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award Bollingen Prize; Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets; American Book award; Lifetime Achievement Award 1986 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (or "Genius") Fellowship 1996 Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets 2001 L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award, Transfigurations: Collected Poems 2005 Bollingen Prize in Poetry, becoming the first African-American writer to be so honored 2006 American Book Award Lifetime Achievement Award from the Before Columbus Foundation. The Bollingen Prize for Poetry is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.