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Photo by Arthur Elgort

Yusef Komunyakaa

Photo by Arthur Elgort

Yusef Komunyakaa’s numerous books of poetry include Dien Cai Dau; Neon Vernacular, for which he received a Pulitzer Prize; WarhorsesThe Emperor of Water Clocks; and, most recently, Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth. His honors include a William Faulkner Prize from Université Rennes, a Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a Wallace Stevens Award, the 2021 Griffin Trust Lifetime Recognition Award, and the 2021 Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award. His collaborations, performance art, and libretti have been performed internationally and include Saturnalia, Wakonda’s Dream, Testimony, Jupiter Invincible, and Gilgamesh.

Prizes, Awards & Fellowships
  • 2021 Lannan Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement