Tyehimba Jess is the author of two books of poetry, Leadbelly and Olio. Olio won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, The Midland Society Author’s Award in Poetry, and received an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. It was also nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN Jean Stein Book Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Leadbelly was a winner of the 2004 National Poetry Series. The Library Journal and Black Issues Book Review both named it one of the “Best Poetry Books of 2005.” Jess’ fiction and poetry have appeared in many journals, as well as anthologies

ACCLAIM

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Winner of the 2017 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Poetry
WINNER of the 2017 Book Award from the Society of Midland Authors for Poetry
2016 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for poetry
2017 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award finalist
2017 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award finalist
Named a Top Poetry Book of 2016 by Library Journal

leadbelly

National Poetry Winner Series winner selected by Brigit Pegeen Kelly

Publication Date: October 1, 2005
ISBN# 9780974635330 (7×9 120pp, paperback)
Purchase: Wave Books / Your Local Bookstore (IndieBound) / Amazon

From the Publisher: A biography in poems, leadbelly examines the life and times of the legendary blues musician from a variety of intimate and historical perspectives, using a range of innovative poetic forms. A collage of song, culture, and circumstance, alive and speaking.