Douglas Kearney

Douglas Kearney (born 1974)^[3] is an American poet, performer and librettist. Kearney grew up in Altadena, California. His work has appeared in Nocturnes, Jubilat, Beloit Poetry Journal, Gulf Coast, Poetry, Pleiades, Iowa Review, Callaloo, Boston Review, Hyperallergic, Scapegoat, Obsidian, Boundary 2, Jacket2, Lana Turner, Brooklyn Rail, and Indiana Review.^[4][5] In 2012, his and Anne LeBaron's opera, Crescent City, premiered and received widespread praise.^[6] He is currently an associate professor at the University of Minnesota.^[7]

Douglas Kearney
Kearney at AWP 2025
Born	1974 (age 50–51) United States
Occupation	Poet, writer, teacher, librettist
Alma mater	Howard University (B.A.)[1] CalArts (M.F.A.)[2]
Notable awards	National Poetry Series Whiting Award Griffin Poetry Prize National Book Award Poetry Finalist

Education

Kearney attended Howard University as an undergraduate. He graduated from California Institute of the Arts, with an MFA (2004).

Awards and honors

Kearney has received multiple notable fellowships, including the Cave Canem Fellowship (2000-02), Bread Loaf Writer's Conference Fellowship (2004), Callaloo Creative Writer's Workshop Fellowship (2004-05), and Returning Fellowship at the Idyllwild Summer Arts Poetry Workshop (2007).^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, the Poetry Society of America named Kearney a Notable New American Poet.^[8] The following year, he was part of the National Poetry Series.^[9][10] Kearney wrote the libretto for George Lewis's opera The Comet, which was named as one of two finalists for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Music.^[11]

Awards for Kearney's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2006	Swimchant for Nigger Mer-folk	Coat Hanger Award	Winner	[12][13]
2008	Self	Whiting Award	Winner	[14][15][16]
2014	Patter	California Book Awards Poetry Finalist	Winner	[17]
2017	Buck Studies	California Book Award for Poetry	Silver	[18]
		CLMP Firecracker Award for Poetry	Winner	[19]
		Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize	Winner	[3]
2021	-	Campbell Opera Librettist Prize	Winner	[20]
	Sho	National Book Award for Poetry	Finalist	[21][22]
2022		Griffin Poetry Prize (International)	Winner	[23][24]
		Hurston/Wright Legacy Award	Nominee
2023	Optic Subwoof	CLMP Firecracker Award for Creative Nonfiction	Winner	[25][26]
		Poetry Foundation Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism	Winner	[27][28]