Tyehimba Jess’ first book of poetry, 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 received a 2004 Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment
for the Arts, and was a 2004-5 Winter Fellow at the Provincetown Fine
Arts Work Center. He won a 2000-1 Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in
Poetry and the 2001 Chicago Sun-Times Poetry Award. Jess is an Assistant
Professor of English at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and
a Cave Canem fellow.