Douglas Kearney (born 1974) is an American poet, performer, and librettist. Kearney grew up in Altadena, California. His work has appeared in journals and magazines including Poetry, Boston Review, and The Brooklyn Rail. His collection Sho won the 2022 Griffin Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry. His collection I Imagine I Been Science Fiction Always was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In 2012, Anne LeBaron's opera Crescent City, with a libretto by Kearney, premiered to critical praise. He is a professor at the University of Minnesota.
Education Kearney received a B.A. from Howard University and an M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts.
Awards and honors Kearney is a graduate and fellow of Cave Canem, and has received support from the Idyllwild Summer Arts Poetry Workshop, the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshops, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.
In 2007, the Poetry Society of America named Kearney a Notable New American Poet. The following year, his second full-length collection, The Black Automaton, was selected for the National Poetry Series. Kearney wrote the libretto for George Lewis's opera The Comet, which was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
+Selected awards and honorsYearTitleAwardResult2006"Swimchant for Nigger Mer-folk" (poem)Coat Hanger AwardWinner2008—Whiting AwardWinner2008The Black AutomatonNational Poetry SeriesSelection2015PatterCalifornia Book Award for PoetryFinalist2017Buck StudiesCalifornia Book Award for PoetrySilverCLMP Firecracker Award for PoetryWinnerTheodore Roethke Memorial Poetry PrizeWinner2021—Campbell Opera Librettist PrizeWinnerShoNational Book Award for PoetryFinalist2022ShoGriffin Poetry PrizeWinnerHurston/Wright Legacy AwardFinalist2023Optic SubwoofCLMP Firecracker Award for Creative NonfictionWinnerPoetry Foundation Pegasus Award for Poetry CriticismWinner2026I Imagine I Been Science Fiction AlwaysPulitzer Prize for PoetryFinalist
Works
Anthologies
Sheree R. Thomas, ed. (2005). Dark Matter: Reading the Bones. Aspect.
Mark Eleveld, ed. (2007) Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Sourcebooks MediaFusion. Sherman Alexie, David Lehman, eds (2015) Best American Poetry 2015 Scribner Press.
References
External links Douglas Kearney's website Profile at The Whiting Foundation "Douglas Kearney", Fishouse "History, Reconciliation, and Form: A Conversation Between Amaud J. Johnson & Douglas Kearney", Boxcar Poetry Review, 2008 "Douglas Kearney reads “A Poison Tree” by William Blake", Poets on Poets