American poet, writer, and professor (born 1968)
Gregory Pardlo (born November 24, 1968)
[1] is an American poet, writer, and professor. His book Digest won the 2015
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry . His poems, reviews, and translations have appeared in
The American Poetry Review ,
Callaloo ,
Poet Lore ,
Harvard Review ,
Ploughshares , and on
National Public Radio .
[2] His work has been praised for its “language simultaneously urban and highbrow… snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal.”
[3]
Life and work
Pardlo's first volume of poems, Totem , was chosen by
Brenda Hillman as the winner of the 2007 American Poetry Review / Honickman First Book Prize, distributed by
Copper Canyon Press .
[4] The manuscript for Totem was also a semifinalist for the
Walt Whitman Award from the
Academy of American Poets , a finalist for the
National Poetry Series , and a finalist for the inaugural
Essence Magazine Literary Award in Poetry .
[2] Pardlo is the translator of the full-length poetry collection Pencil of Rays and Spike Mace by Danish poet Niels Lyngsø.
[5]
Born in
Philadelphia , Pardlo grew up in
Willingboro, New Jersey .
[6] His younger brother is
Robbie Pardlo , an American musician formerly of R&B group
City High .
[7] His father, Gregory Pardlo Sr., is a former
air traffic controller who participated in the
air traffic controllers' strike of 1981 .
[8]
Gregory Pardlo received his BA in English from
Rutgers University-Camden , an MFA from
New York University as a
New York Times Fellow in Poetry, and an MFA in nonfiction from
Columbia University ; he is also a doctoral candidate in English at the
City University of New York . He has been the recipient of fellowships from the
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation , the
New York Foundation for the Arts , the
Cave Canem Foundation , the
MacDowell Artist's Colony , the Seaside Institute, the
Lotos Club Foundation, and
City University of New York , as well as a translation grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts .
[9]
Pardlo's poem “Written by Himself” appeared in
The Best American Poetry 2010 anthology series edited by
David Lehman and
Amy Gerstler , following initial publication in
The American Poetry Review .
[10] His poem "Wishing Well" appeared in
The Best American Poetry 2014 , guest edited by
Terrance Hayes , following initial publication in
Painted Bride Quarterly .
[11]
Pardlo serves as an Associate Editor for the literary journal
Callaloo . He has led writing workshops for the
PEN American Center , American Poetry Review / Young Voices Program,
The Frost Place Conference , Callaloo Creative Writer's Workshop, and
Jamaica ’s Calabash International Literary Festival, among others. He is a Teaching Fellow at
Columbia University .
[12]
In 2016, Pardlo accepted a tenure-track faculty position with the English department at his alma mater, Rutgers University-Camden.
[13] He has taught at
Columbia University ,
[12]
George Washington University ,
Medgar Evers College ,
The New School University ,
John Jay College ,
Hunter College , and NYU.
[9]
[12]
[14]
As of 2023, Pardlo is Visiting Associate Professor of Practice in Literature & Creative Writing at
NYU Abu Dhabi .
[15]
Awards and honors
2015 Winner,
Pulitzer Prize for poetry for Digest
2014 Selection, The Best American Poetry 2014 for "Wishing Well"
2010 Selection, The Best American Poetry 2010 for "Written by Himself"
2008 Finalist, Essence Magazine Literary Award in Poetry for Totem
2008 Selection, Coldfront Magazine Best First Books of 2007 for Totem
2008 Nominee,
Pushcart Prize
2007 Winner, American Poetry Review / Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry for Totem
2007 Finalist, National Poetry Series for Totem
2007 Semifinalist, Academy of American Poets Walt Whitman Award for Totem
2005 Finalist, Cave Cavem Book Prize
2004 Winner, Lotos Club Foundation Award for Creative Writing
2003 Nominee, Pushcart Prize
2001 Honorable Mention, New Millennium Writings Prize
Bibliography
Poetry
Collections
Translations
List of poems
Title
Year
First published
Reprinted/collected
Allegory
2021
Pardlo, Gregory (March 1, 2021).
"Allegory" . The New Yorker . 97 (2): 40.
Anthologized writings
“Written by Himself” , The Best American Poetry 2010 (Scribner, 2010)
“Marginalia” , So Much Things to Say: 100 Poets from the First Ten Years of the Calabash International Literary Festival (Akashic Books, 2010)
“Double Dutch” , From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great (Persea Press, 2009)
“Man Reading in Bed by a Window with Bugs” , Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (University of Georgia Press, 2009)
“Winter After the Strike” , Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem’s First Decade (University of Michigan Press, 2006)
“Arsonist” and “Future as Evaporation”, Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art (Third World Press, 2002)
“Harvest: A Line Drawing” , Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Three Rivers Press, 2001)
Prose
Memoirs
Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America (Knopf, 2018),
ISBN
978-1524731762
———————
Bibliography notes
^
"Poetry Foundation "Harriet" Blog" . Archived from
the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2010-10-07 .
^ Jordan Davis,
"Totem – Gregory Pardlo" (review) , The Constant Critic, May 1, 2008.
^
"(Inter/Re)view of Greg Pardlo’s TOTEM" (audio), Post No Ills, August 5, 2008.
^
"recommended: gregory pardlo" , Lots and Lots of Neat blog, August 10, 2009.
^
2015 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
References
^
"Gregory Pardlo’s ‘Digest’ wins Pulitzer Prize for poetry" , Black Kudos.
^
a
b
GWU English Faculty Page
^
"2008 Essence Literary Award Nominees" , aalbc.com.
^ Tess Malone (September 11, 2009).
"Introducing Gregory Pardlo: GW's Newest Poet & Professor" . GW English News . Department of English, George Washington University. Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
^
"Gregory Pardlo" ,
From the Fishouse,
Archived January 16, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
^ Paolino, Tammy (June 12, 2015).
"Poems, perspective and a Pulitzer" .
Courier-Post . Retrieved February 13, 2017 .
^
"Welcome to pardlo.com" . pardlo.com . Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
^ Pardlo, Gregory (February 12, 2017).
"The cost of defying the president" .
The New Yorker . Retrieved February 13, 2017 .
^
a
b
"Written By Himself" , The American Poetry Review .
Archived January 5, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
^ Sarah Kuczynski.
"Prof. Pardlo featured in 2010 vol. of The Best American Poetry" . GW English News . Department of English, George Washington University. Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
^
"Greg Pardlo: Wishing Well" , Painted Bride Quarterly , March 30, 2013.
^
a
b
c
"pardlo.com: Biography" . pardlo.com . Archived from
the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
^ Paolino, Tammy (February 11, 2016).
"Pulitzer-winning poet joins Rutgers-Camden faculty" . Courier-Post . Retrieved February 13, 2017 .
^
"La Petite Zine - Gregory Pardlo" . lapetitezine.org . Archived from
the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015 .
^
"Gregory Pardlo, Visiting Associate Professor of Practice in Literature & Creative Writing" . NYU Abu Dhabi . October 1, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023 .
External links
Gregory Pardlo website
Tammy Paolino,
"Poems, perspective and a Pulitzer" , Courier-Post , June 12, 2015
Erica Wright,
"Gregory Pardlo: The Poem as Pursuit" (interview) , Guernica , March 10, 2015
Gregory Pardlo on Totem , CUNY Radio podcast
Interview: Poem Of The Week
"An Awe-Inspiring Evening with Greg Pardlo" , GWU English News , Department of English, George Washington University
"Introducing Gregory Pardlo" , GWU English News
Audio: Poems & Discussion , From the Fishouse: an audio archive of emerging poets
Audio: Poets.org
Three Poems , The Awl
"Gregpry Pardlo: How to pretend you've read a book you haven't" ,
Literary Hub , April 11, 2018