Kevin Young’s poetry resonates with blues rhythms, cinematic images and African-American history. Named by Village Voice as a “writer on the verge,” Young has published five books of poetry, including Jelly Roll (2003), a finalist for the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and Most Way Home (1995), which won the Zacharis First Book Award from Ploughshares. The Providence Black Repertory Theater recently adapted his film noir in verse, Black Maria (2005), for the stage. His latest book is For the Confederate Dead (2007).

Young has edited several volumes of poetry, including Giant Steps: The New Generation of African-American Writers (2000) and Blues Poems (2003). He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as a MacDowell Colony residency.

Young teaches at Emory University, where he curates the 70,000-volume Danowski Poetry Library.

Join Literary Arts and Northwest Writing Institute for a discussion of Kevin Young’s work on February 20, 2007, led by local poets Jerry Harp and Mary Szybist.