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Evie Shockley

エヴィー・ショックリー

Evivī Shokkuri

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1965-01-01 （Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. → Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. → New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, academic/instructor
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Wake Forest University (former), Rutgers University–New Brunswick (faculty)

Education

Northwestern University
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree (major not specified)
University of Michigan
Degree: JD
Country: United States
Juris Doctor (JD)
Duke University
English
Degree: PhD
Country: United States
PhD in English

Awards

Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Poetry)
2012
Work: the new black
Organization: Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result: winner
Holmes National Poetry Prize
2012
Organization: unknown
Result: winner
Pulitzer Prize (Poetry)
2018
Work: semiautomatic
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: finalist
The Believer Poetry Award (finalist)
2017
Work: semiautomatic
Organization: The Believer
Result: finalist
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (finalist)
2017
Work: semiautomatic
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: finalist
MacDowell Colony Fellowship
2013
Organization: MacDowell
Result: fellow

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Gorgon Goddess

2001 poetry collection

An early collection featuring formal experimentation and poems from perspectives of Black women.

gendermyth reinterpretationidentity

a half-red sea

2006 poetry collection

A mid-career collection that weaves historical and cultural references into its poems.

historymemorycultural critique

31 words * prose poems

2007 poetry/experimental

An experimental collection of short prose poems.

language experimentationformal play

the new black

2011 poetry collection

A collection that incorporates statistics and historical fragments to illuminate contemporary race and culture poetry. Winner of the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.

racesocial statisticspublicness

semiautomatic

2017 poetry collection

Combines traditional forms with collage techniques to address violence and public response. Dedicated to Black Lives Matter founders. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and several other book awards.

violenceprotestcontemporary politics

suddenly we

2023 poetry collection

A recent collection exploring intersections of society and the individual.

collectivitytimechange

Bibliography

  • The Gorgon Goddess (2001)
  • a half-red sea (2006)
  • 31 words * prose poems (2007)
  • the new black (2011)
  • Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry (2011)
  • semiautomatic (2017)
  • suddenly we (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
formally experimentalcollage-likepolitical poetryintegration of Black aesthetics and critical scholarship
Recurring Motifs
race and Black experienceviolence and memoryreconstruction of historical fragmentsuse of public data and statistics poetically

Legacy

Evie Shockley is an important voice in contemporary African American poetry, celebrated for combining formal innovation with political themes. Her scholarly and poetic works have influenced younger poets and critics.

In Popular Culture

  • Contributed to discussions around Black Lives Matter and contemporary race issues through poetry and criticism.

Quotes

  • (She is) the present and future of poetry.
    Source: Praise attributed to poet Le Hinton regarding the new black (2011)

Trivia

  • Born in 1965 in Nashville.
  • Won the 2012 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for the new black.
  • semiautomatic was a 2018 Pulitzer Prize (Poetry) finalist.
  • semiautomatic is dedicated to the founders of Black Lives Matter.