Saeed Jones

Saeed Jones is an American poet and memoirist whose work has been widely praised for its lyrical intensity, emotional bravery, and treatment of race, sexuality, and the American South. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up in Lewisville, Texas, and received an MFA in Poetry from Rutgers University-Newark. Prelude to Bruise (2014), his debut poetry collection, won the Stonewall Book Award in Literature and the Publishing Triangle Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir (2019) won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction and the Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction, becoming one of the most celebrated memoirs of recent years. The book traces Jones's coming-of-age as a young, gay Black man in the South and his relationship with his mother, who died before she could see his success. Jones was previously the culture editor and co-host of BuzzFeed News's morning show. He has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. He teaches at City University of New York (CUNY) and lives in New York City.