Speakers

Born in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood in Jamaica. As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of the country, citing in a recent interview his “spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music.” His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius (2007) remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley.

The author of numerous books and poetry collections, his awards include an Emmy and Webby for LiveHopeLove, an interactive website based on the Kwame Dawes Pulitzer Prize Center project HOPE: Living and Loving with AIDS in Jamaica. Dawes’s other honors and award include the a Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. 

Kwame Dawes serves as the poet laureate of Jamaica as well as the director of the African Poetry Book Fund. He is  the Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner and Professor of English at the University of Nebraska. He is The cofounder of the Calabash International Literary Festival and a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.