Increasingly recognized as a poet of both the Caribbean and of the United States, especially for his "Midland," which won the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, Selected Poems contains a generous selection from all six volumes of Dawes's poetry, showing the breadth and depth of his achievement. From writing the poems of displacement and loss of "Resisting the Anomie," the vibrant, unstoppable narratives of "Prophets" or "Jacko Jacobus," the concentrated poems of "Requiem" ("shrines of remembrance" for the millions of victims of transatlantic slavery), to the autobiographical poems of "Progeny of Air" and the questioning psalms and reggae poetry of "Shook Foil," Kwame Dawes's poetry has a unique, signal voice.
Born in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica . As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his "spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music." His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.