About this episode

Cornelius Eady discusses his poetry, musical theater work, and artistic collaborations.

Cornelius Eady is a Professor of English and John C. Hodges Chair of Excellence at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. From September 2021 to December 2022, he served as interim Director of Poets House in New York City. Eady published his first collection, Kartunes , in 1980. His second collection, Victims of the Latest Dance Craze (1985), was chosen as winner of the Academy of American Poets’ Lamont Poetry Award by Louise Glück, Charles Simic, and Philip Booth. He has published eight other collections, including The Gathering of My Name (1991), nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; Brutal Imagination (2001), a National Book Award finalist; and Hardheaded Weather: New and Selected Poems (2008), nominated for an NAACP Image Award. In addition to his poetry, Eady has written musical theater productions, collaborating with jazz composer Diedre Murray. The two worked together on Running Man , a roots opera libretto that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, and Brutal Imagination , recipient of Newsday ’s Oppenheimer Award. Eady is also a musician, and he performs with the literary band Rough Magic and the Cornelius Eady Trio, which recently released the album…

People in this episode

Guest: Cornelius Eady

Topics covered

• poetry
• literature
• musical theater
• conversation
• artistic collaboration

Keywords

• Cornelius Eady
• poetry
• musical theater
• literature
• artistic collaboration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Poets House, Newsday, Kattywompus Press

Books & works: Kartunes, Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, The Gathering of My Name, Brutal Imagination, Hardheaded Weather: New and Selected Poems, Running Man, Don't Get Dead: Pandemic Folk Songs, Book of Hooks, Singing While Black, All the American Poets Have Titled Their New Books The End

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