Kwame Dawes

Born in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood in Jamaica. As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his "spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music." His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley. Dawes has edited numerous anthologies, and published two novels, a collection of short stories, a memoir, plays and scholarly books. He has published sixteen collections of poetry, most recently Back of Mount Peace (2010) and Wheels (2011). In 2013 Copper Canyon will publish Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems. A winner of an Emmy for his poetry and reporting on HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, Dawes is also the winner of a Pushcart Prize, the Forward Poetry Prize and the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize. He is the Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner and a Chancellor's Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.