| Erica Dawson | |
| Birth Date: | 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Columbia, Maryland |
| Occupation: | Poet |
| Education: | Johns Hopkins University Ohio State University University of Cincinnati |
| Nationality: | American |
Erica Dawson is an American poet and professor. She is the author of three poetry collections.
Dawson grew up in Columbia, Maryland.[1] After earning a B.A. degree at Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Poetry at Ohio State University, she earned a PhD at the University of Cincinnati as the Elliston Fellow in Poetry.[2]
Dawson's first poetry collection, Big-Eyed Afraid (Waywiser Press, 2007), was selected for the 2006 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize by Mary Jo Salter and was named Best Debut of 2007 by the Contemporary Poetry Review.[3] Her second collection, The Small Blades Hurt (Measure Press, 2014), won the 2016 Poets' Prize.[4] A third collection, When Rap Spoke Straight to God, was published by Tin House Books in 2018. Dawson's poems have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, including Barrow Street,[5] Blackbird,[6] and The Best American Poetry 2008, 2012, and 2015.[7] [8]
Dawson is known for her innovative use of traditional forms.[9] In 2010 she was alleged by A.E. Stallings to have achieved "something like rock star status" among fellow New Formalist poets and poetry fans.[10] She lives in Tampa, Florida, where she directs the University of Tampa's Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing and serves as poetry editor of the Tampa Review.[11]