Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 88 (2007) Winner
Natasha Trethewey
ナターシャ・トレセウェイ
Natasha Trethewey
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1966-04-26 （Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Gulfport, Mississippi (birthplace) → Atlanta, Georgia (Emory University, former) → Washington, D.C. (residence while U.S. Poet Laureate) → Evanston, Illinois (Northwestern University)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Professor
- Active Years
- 1996-
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (Board of Trustees Professor of English), Emory University (Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing, 2001–2017), Duke University (Lehman Brady Joint Chair Professor of Documentary and American Studies), Yale University (visiting appointments), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (visiting appointments)
- Memberships
- American Academy of Arts and Letters, Academy of American Poets, American Philosophical Society
- Influenced By
- Robert Penn Warren, Rita Dove
- Influenced
- Younger African American poets
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia | — | English | BA | 1984–1988 | United States |
| Hollins University | — | English and Creative Writing | MA | 1990–1992 | United States |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | — | Poetry | MFA | 1993–1995 | United States |
University of Georgia
English
Degree:
BA
Period:
1984–1988
Year of Graduation:
1988
Country:
United States
Hollins University
English and Creative Writing
Degree:
MA
Period:
1990–1992
Year of Graduation:
1992
Country:
United States
Later awarded an honorary doctorate by Hollins University
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Poetry
Degree:
MFA
Period:
1993–1995
Year of Graduation:
1995
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Cave Canem Poetry Prize | Domestic Work | — | Cave Canem Foundation | Winner |
| 2007 | Pulitzer Prize in Poetry | Native Guard | — | Pulitzer Prize Board | Winner |
| 2012 | United States Poet Laureate | — | — | Library of Congress | 任命（2012–2014） |
| 2017 | Heinz Award (Arts and Humanities) | — | — | Heinz Family Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry | Lifetime Achievement | — | University of Maryland / Bobbitt Prize organization | Winner |
| 2021 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | Memorial Drive | — | Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards | Winner |
Cave Canem Poetry Prize
1999
Work:
Domestic Work
Organization:
Cave Canem Foundation
Result:
Winner
Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
2007
Work:
Native Guard
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board
Result:
Winner
United States Poet Laureate
2012
Organization:
Library of Congress
Result:
任命（2012–2014）
Heinz Award (Arts and Humanities)
2017
Organization:
Heinz Family Foundation
Result:
受賞
Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry
2020
Work:
Lifetime Achievement
Organization:
University of Maryland / Bobbitt Prize organization
Result:
Winner
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2021
Work:
Memorial Drive
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 25 (2015) Winner
Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (2020, held 2 times in year) Lifetime Achievement Award
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 86 (2021) Winner
Works
Major Works
Domestic Work
2000 Poetry 64 pagesA debut collection exploring the work and lives of black men and women in the American South, intertwining personal memory with broader history.
memoryfamilySouthern race and labor
Bellocq's Ophelia
2002 Poetry / epistolary novella 80 pagesAn epistolary poetic novella imagining the life of a mixed-race prostitute photographed by E. J. Bellocq in early 20th-century New Orleans; explores memory and image.
memoryimagerace and history
Native Guard
2006 Poetry 72 pagesA collection that interweaves the history of the Louisiana Native Guards (an all-black Union regiment) with personal and familial memory; winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.
Civil Warmemoryracial legacy
Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
2010 Nonfiction (essays and poetry) 160 pagesA blended work of essays and poetry reflecting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, documenting its effects on friends, family, and community, with photographs.
Hurricane Katrinacommunity recoverymemory and loss
Thrall
2012 Poetry 96 pagesA collection that moves between formal structures and free verse to examine intersections of personal history and national memory, touching on loss and public remembrance.
memorylosshistory
Monument: Poems New and Selected
2018 Poetry (new and selected) 240 pagesA collection of new and selected poems covering family history, Southern history, and meditations on memory.
family historySouthern memoryre-examining history
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir
2020 Memoir 240 pagesA memoir reflecting on the author's mother's death and family history, confronting issues of race, memory, and domestic violence through personal narrative.
familyviolencememory
The House of Being
2024 Essays (Why I Write)An essay in the 'Why I Write' series discussing motives for writing and the author's stance as a writer.
writing motivesliterary reflection
Bibliography
- Domestic Work (2000)
- Bellocq's Ophelia (2002)
- Native Guard (2006)
- Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2010)
- Thrall (2012)
- Monument: Poems New and Selected (2018)
- Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir (2020)
- The House of Being (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Combines free verse with traditional forms such as sonnets and villanellesPrecise, restrained diction
- Recurring Motifs
- memoryfamily historySouthern history (notably the Civil War)race and identityphotography and image
Legacy
Natasha Trethewey is acclaimed for weaving personal memory with America's racial and historical memory in her poetry. A Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate, she has influenced both academic and public conversations about race and memory.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)
- Academy of American Poets (Chancellor)
- American Philosophical Society (member)
Archives
- Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (Natasha Trethewey papers, 1942-2013)
- Library of Congress - Online resources related to Natasha Trethewey
Quotes
-
That was the moment when I both felt that I would become a poet and then immediately afterward felt that I would not. I turned to poetry to make sense of what had happened.
Source: New York Times (interview) (2007)
Trivia
- Her mother's murder had a profound impact and became a major impetus for her poetry.
- Born April 26, 1966; Southern history and the Civil War are recurring subjects in her work.
- Won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for Native Guard (published 2006).