A. Van Jordan

Born in Akron, Ohio, A. Van Jordan is a graduate of Wittenberg University (B.A.), Howard University (M.A.), Warren Wilson College (M.F.A.), and Vermont College of Fine Arts (M.F.A.). He serves as a professor of English at Stanford University. He previously was the Robert Hayden Collegiate Professor of English Language & Literature at the University of Michigan. 

Jordan is the author of five books of poetry, including the forthcoming collection When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again(2023). His other books are The Cineaste (2013); Quantum Lyrics (2007); M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A (2005), which was listed as one the Best Books of 2005 by the London Times; and Rise (2001),which won the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award.

Among his other honors, Jordan has received the Whiting Writers Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and a Pushcart Prize. He is also a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and United States Artists.