Saeed Jones Explained

Saeed Jones
Birth Date:November 26, 1985
Birth Place:Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Western Kentucky University (BA)
Rutgers University–Newark (MFA)
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Spouses:-->
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Awards:Pushcart Prize

Saeed Jones (born November 26, 1985)[1] is an American writer and poet. His debut collection Prelude to Bruise was named a 2014 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry. His second book, a memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction in 2019.

Early life

Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in Lewisville, Texas.[2] He attended college at Western Kentucky University, then earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Rutgers University–Newark.[3] [4]

Career

Poetry

Jones released his debut poetry chapbook in 2011. Titled When the Only Light is Fire, it was the top-selling book in the Gay Poetry category on Amazon for several weeks.

In 2014, Jones published his first full-length poetry collection, Prelude to Bruise. NPR called it "brilliant, unsparing," "visceral and affecting."[5] The Kenyon Review said the work "evokes a perilous, often mythic, eroticism within a brutalizing context of violence."[6] TIME Magazine recommended it as "an engrossing read best consumed in as few sittings as possible."[7] It was a 2014 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry.[8]

In September 2022, Jones published another poetry collection, Alive at the End of the World.[9] [10]

Jones has been a winner of the Pushcart Prize, the Joyce Osterwell Award for Poetry from the PEN Literary Awards,[11] and the Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Award for Literature, and a nominee for the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Jones has been featured on PBS NewsHours poetry series[12] and on So Popular! with Janet Mock on MSNBC.[13] He was featured on the cover of Hello Mr. in 2015.[14]

Prose and other projects

Jones previously worked for BuzzFeed as the founding LGBT editor and its executive culture editor.[15] [16] While at BuzzFeed, Jones cohosted BuzzFeed News' morning show AM to DM from fall 2017 until mid-2019.[17] Jones also wrote an advice column for BuzzFeed's READER newsletter entitled "Dear Ferocity."[18]

His memoir How We Fight for Our Lives was published by Simon & Schuster in 2019. The New Yorker called the book's tone and content "urgent, immediate, matter of fact".[19] NPR called it an "outstanding memoir" with "elements that profoundly connect him to poetry" and to "many of us who grew up dreaming of a chance at upward social mobility".[20] The book won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction in 2019 and a Lambda Literary Award in 2020.[21] [22]

In 2022, Jones's interview with Debbie Millman was featured on the Storybound (podcast) season 5 premiere.

Jones is one of the hosts of the Vibe Check podcast.

Personal life

Jones lives in Columbus, Ohio.[23]

Jones was brought up to practice Nichiren Buddhism and still does today.

Bibliography

Poetry collections

In Anthology

Memoir

Notes and References

  1. theferocity . 537387939119235072 . Jones . Saeed . November 25, 2014 . It's my birthday tomorrow. I'll be 29. So grateful hasn't killed me yet. . April 25, 2017.
  2. News: Cochran. Jacoby. Saeed Jones: Buzzfeed Editor, Poet, and Forensicator. 20 September 2016. Melo. May 27, 2015. April 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170426060659/http://www.thisismelo.com/feature/saeed-jones-buzzfeed-editor-poet-and-forensicator/. dead.
  3. Web site: Buzzfeed Names Rutgers MFA Graduate Executive Editor of Culture . Sacharow . Fredda . February 19, 2016 . Rutgers Today . Rutgers University.
  4. Web site: Gadson . Jonterri . 2012 . An Interview with Saeed Jones . 2022-08-28 . Eclectica Magazine . v16n1.
  5. El-Mohtar . Amal . Amal El-Mohtar . Brilliant, Unsparing 'Prelude' Will Leave A Bruise. . . September 3, 2014.
  6. Web site: Journey . Anna . Anna Journey . On Saeed Jones's Prelude to Bruise . . Fall 2014 .
  7. Feeney . Nolan . Saeed Jones: "No One Is Safe" In These Poems . September 29, 2014 . Time.
  8. News: Charles. Ron. Ron Charles (critic). 19 January 2015. National Book Critics Circle finalists. The Washington Post.
  9. Web site: Gorham . Luke . August 26, 2022 . Alive at the End of the World . 2022-10-06 . Library Journal.
  10. Web site: 2022-09-12 . Saeed Jones Is 'Alive at the End of the World' . 2022-10-06 . Shondaland . en-us.
  11. Web site: Coffee House poet Saeed Jones wins PEN award . Hertzel. Laurie. May 13, 2015 . On Books . Star Tribune.
  12. Web site: van Wagtendonk . Anya . Weekly Poem: Saeed Jones composes a 'Prelude' to one Boy's coming-of-age . . September 15, 2014.
  13. 'Prelude to Bruise,' the Poetry of Saeed Jones . Mock . Janet . Janet Mock . January 23, 2015 . So Popular! . .
  14. Web site: Jones . Justin . The Winning Gay Subtlety of 'Hello Mr.' . September 26, 2014 . . 20 September 2016.
  15. Web site: Gross. Terry. 7 November 2019. 'We're All Struggling': Writer Saeed Jones Reflects On Identity And Acceptance. 15 August 2020. WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio.
  16. Web site: About Saeed Jones . 2022-08-28 . poets.org.
  17. News: Scire. Sarah. 16 April 2020. BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding. Nieman Lab. 15 August 2020.
  18. Web site: Hey, Did You Know BuzzFeed Has A Literary Magazine? . . May 8, 2017 . 2020-05-29.
  19. Waldman. Katie. 10 October 2019. Saeed Jones's Sensual Memoir of Race, Sex, and Self-Invention. The New Yorker. 15 August 2020.
  20. News: Iglesias. Gabino. 14 October 2019. 'How We Fight For Our Lives' Is One Life Story That Finds Connection To Others. NPR. 15 August 2020.
  21. News: Downing. Andy. 24 October 2019. Columbus writer Saeed Jones wins the Kirkus Prize. Columbus Alive. 15 August 2020. September 27, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200927143552/https://www.columbusalive.com/news/20191024/columbus-writer-saeed-jones-wins-kirkus-prize. dead.
  22. Vanderhoof. Erin. 1 June 2020. PRIDE MONTH EXCLUSIVE: The Winners of the 32nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Vanity Fair. 16 January 2020.
  23. News: Nneka . McGuire . Forget New York. For writer Saeed Jones, Columbus, Ohio, is the place to be a literary star . October 22, 2019 . The Washington Post.

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