World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Ross Gay

ロス・ゲイ

Rosu Gei

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1974-08-01 （Youngstown, Ohio）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Youngstown, Ohio → Levittown, Pennsylvania → Bloomington, Indiana → Easton, Pennsylvania → Montclair, New Jersey

Career

Occupations
poet, essayist, professor, editor
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Indiana University Bloomington (faculty), Drew University low-residency MFA (faculty), Bloomington Community Orchard (founding board member), Some Call It Ballin' (founding editor), Q Avenue (editor), Ledge Mule Press (editor)
Memberships
Cave Canem (fellow), Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (scholar/participant)
Nominations
2015 National Book Award (Poetry) finalist, 2016 NAACP Image Award (Poetry) nominee

Education

Lafayette College
Degree: B.A.
Year of Graduation: 1996
Country: United States
Sarah Lawrence College
Poetry (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Temple University
American Literature (Ph.D.)
Degree: Ph.D.
Country: United States

Awards

National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry
2015
Work: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Category: 詩
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
2016
Work: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Category: 詩
Organization: The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Poetry)
2015
Work: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Category: 詩
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 候補（ファイナリスト）
Guggenheim Fellowship
2013
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Radcliffe Fellow
2015
Organization: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Result: 受賞
Indiana Authors Award
2020
Work: The Book of Delights
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Indiana Authors Awards
Result: 受賞
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award
2021
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
Indiana Authors Award (Poetry)
2022
Category: 詩
Organization: Indiana Authors Awards
Result: 受賞
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
2023
Work: Inciting Joy: Essays
Category: メモワール／伝記（エッセイ）
Organization: Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result: 受賞
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
2016
Work: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Category: 詩
Organization: NAACP
Result: ノミネート
Ohioana Book Award
2023
Work: Inciting Joy: Essays
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Ohioana Library Association
Result: 受賞
Ohioana Book Award (shortlisted)
2015
Work: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Category: 詩
Organization: Ohioana Library Association
Result: 候補
Ohioana Book Award (shortlisted)
2021
Work: Be Holding
Category: 詩
Organization: Ohioana Library Association
Result: 候補
Ohioana Book Award (shortlisted)
2024
Work: The Book of (More) Delights: Essays
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Ohioana Library Association
Result: 候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Against Which

2006 Poetry

Early collection of poems reflecting on personal memory and perception, exploring language's relationship to the world.

memorypersonal historylanguage

Bringing the Shovel Down

2011 Poetry

A mature collection in which personal experience intersects with broader social themes.

losscommunityembodiment

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

2015 Poetry

A collection of poems themed around gratitude, joy, loss, and memory. One of his most celebrated works, awarded and widely praised.

gratitudejoynatureloss

The Book of Delights: Essays

2019 Essays

A series of short essays about daily 'delights', practicing observation and gratitude.

joyeveryday observationgratitude

Be Holding

2020 Poetry

A 2020 poetry collection that probes relationships with the world through delicate language.

connectionholdingmindfulness

Inciting Joy: Essays

2022 Essays

An essay collection focused on the theme of inciting joy, traversing social and personal perspectives.

joycommunityethics

The Book of (More) Delights: Essays

2023 Essays

A follow-up to The Book of Delights, collecting short essays that attend to small everyday joys.

everyday lifejoyobservation

Bibliography

  • Against Which (2006)
  • Bringing the Shovel Down (2011)
  • Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens (with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, 2014)
  • River (2014)
  • Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (2015)
  • The Book of Delights: Essays (2019)
  • Be Holding (2020)
  • Inciting Joy: Essays (2022)
  • The Book of (More) Delights: Essays (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyricalobservational prose-poetic styletone emphasizing gratitude and joy
Recurring Motifs
gratitudejoynature (gardens, orchards)communityloss and renewal

Legacy

Ross Gay is an important contemporary American writer and educator known for poetry and essays centered on gratitude and joy. He has received multiple major awards and is recognized for linking poetic practice with community engagement.

Academic Societies

  • Cave Canem
  • Bread Loaf Writers' Conference

Trivia

  • Founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard.
  • Co-founder and editor of the online sports magazine Some Call It Ballin'.
  • Has a recorded appearance on an episode of the reality show 'A Dating Story' (citation noted).