# Ross Gay

Ross Gay (born August 1, 1974) is an American poet, essayist, and professor of English at Indiana University who won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his 2014 book Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, which was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry.

## Life

Ross Gay was born on August 1, 1974, in Youngstown, Ohio, but he grew up in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
He received his B.A. from Lafayette College, his MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and his Ph.D. in American Literature from Temple University.
He is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some Call it Ballin'. He is also an editor with the chapbook presses Q Avenue and Ledge Mule Press. He is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project.
He has taught poetry, art, and literature at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and Montclair State University in New Jersey. He now teaches at Indiana University Bloomington and the low-residency MFA in poetry program at Drew University.
His poems have appeared in literary journals and magazines including The American Poetry Review; Harvard Review; Columbia: A Journal of Poetry; Art, Margie: The American Journal of Poetry; and Atlanta Review. His poetry has also appeared in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009). His essays have appeared in The Paris Review.
His honors include being a Cave Canem Workshop fellow and a Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Tuition Scholar, and he received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

## Awards and honors

| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result |
| 2015 | Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude | National Book Award | Poetry | Shortlisted |
| 2015 | Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude | National Book Critics Circle Award | Poetry | Won |
| 2016 | Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude | The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards | Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award | Won |
| 2016 | Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude | NAACP Image Awards | Poetry | Nominated |
| 2016 | Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude | Ohioana Book Award | Poetry | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Book of Delights | Indiana Authors Award | Nonfiction | Won |
| 2021 | Be Holding: A Poem | Ohioana Book Award | Poetry | Shortlisted |
| 2021 | Be Holding: A Poem | PEN/Jean Stein Book Award | — | Won |
| 2022 | Be Holding: A Poem | Indiana Authors Award | Poetry | Won |
| 2023 | Inciting Joy: Essays | Hurston/Wright Legacy Award | Memoir/Biography | Won |
| 2023 | Inciting Joy: Essays | Ohioana Book Award | Nonfiction | Won |
| 2024 | The Book of (More) Delights: Essays | Ohioana Book Award | Nonfiction | Shortlisted |

## Works

* Against Which. CavanKerry Press. October 2006. ISBN 9781933880006.
* Bringing the Shovel Down. University of Pittsburgh Press. January 23, 2011. ISBN 9780822991199.
* With Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens. Organic Weapon Arts. 2014. ISBN 9780982710678.
* River. Monster House Press. December 1, 2014.
* Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. University of Pittsburgh Press. January 16, 2015. ISBN 9780822963318.
* The Book of Delights: Essays. Algonquin Books. February 12, 2019. ISBN 9781616207922.
* Be Holding. University of Pittsburgh Press. September 8, 2020. ISBN 9780822966234.
* Inciting Joy: Essays. Algonquin Books. October 25, 2022. ISBN 9781643753041.
* The Book of (More) Delights: Essays. Algonquin Books. September 19, 2023. ISBN 9781643753096.
In anthology
* Melissa Tuckey, ed. (2018). Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820353159.

## Appearances on reality television shows

* A Dating Story, Episode 110: Jason, Brooke and Ross