Thomas Sayers Ellis

Thomas Sayers Ellis (1963-2025) was an American poet, photographer, musician, and teacher born and raised in Washington, D.C. He co-founded the Dark Room Collective in 1988 to support Black writers and published notable poetry collections including The Maverick Room (2005), which won the John C. Zacharis First Book Award, and Skin, Inc. (2010). A leader of the band Heroes are Gang Leaders, he received fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, and a Guggenheim, and taught at universities like Sarah Lawrence College.