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Erica Dawson is an American poet and professor. She is the author of three poetry collections.

Biography

Dawson grew up in Columbia, Maryland. After earning a B.A. degree at Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Poetry at Ohio State University, she earned a PhD at the University of Cincinnati as the Elliston Fellow in Poetry.

Dawson's first poetry collection, Big-Eyed Afraid (Waywiser Press, 2007), was selected for the 2006 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize by Mary Jo Salter and was named Best Debut of 2007 by the Contemporary Poetry Review. Her second collection, The Small Blades Hurt (Measure Press, 2014), won the 2016 Poets' Prize. A third collection, When Rap Spoke Straight to God, was published by Tin House Books in 2018. Dawson's poems have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, including Barrow Street, Blackbird, and The Best American Poetry 2008, 2012, and 2015.

Dawson is known for her innovative use of traditional forms. In 2010 she was alleged by A.E. Stallings to have achieved "something like rock star status" among fellow New Formalist poets and poetry fans. She lives in Tampa, Florida, where she directs the University of Tampa's Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing and serves as poetry editor of the Tampa Review.

References

1. Hilbert, Ernest (2009). "Interview with Erica Dawson". Contemporary Poetry Review. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
2. ^ Lehman, David; Wright, Charles, eds. (2008). The Best American Poetry 2008. Simon and Schuster. pp. 157–158. ISBN 9780743299756.
3. "2nd Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize". Waywiser Press. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
4. ^ "Erica Dawson". Blackbird Archive. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
5. "Erica Dawson Wins 2016 Poets' Prize". Measure Press. March 25, 2016. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
6. ^ "Bio". EricaDawsonPoet.net. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
7. "Summer 2007 Contributors". Barrow Street. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
8. Lehman, David; Doty, Mark, eds. (2012). The Best American Poetry 2012. Simon and Schuster. pp. 172–173. ISBN 9781439181546.
9. Lehman, David; Alexie, Sherman, eds. (2015). The Best American Poetry 2015. Simon and Schuster. p. 208. ISBN 9781476708218.
10. Farmer, Jonathan (February 1, 2014). "The Posing Is Real: Erica Dawson's poems gesture toward shock, but reveal something deeper". Slate. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
11. Stallings, A.E. (April 21, 2010). "Afro-formalism". The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved November 21, 2017.

• 1979 births
• Poets from Maryland
• People from Columbia, Maryland
• Writers from Tampa, Florida
• Johns Hopkins University alumni
• Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
• University of Cincinnati alumni
• Living people
• American women poets
• 20th-century American poets
• 20th-century American women writers
• 21st-century American poets
• 21st-century American translators
• 21st-century American women writers
• African-American poets
• Formalist poets
• 20th-century African-American women writers
• 20th-century African-American writers
• 21st-century African-American women writers
• 21st-century African-American writers