Saeed Jones is a highly acclaimed author, known for his powerful and emotive writing in both poetry and prose. His work has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, cementing his status as a significant voice in contemporary literature.
Jones' memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives, won the prestigious Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction in 2019, as well as the 2020 Stonewall Book Award/Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award and a 2020 Lambda Literary Award. The memoir provides an intimate and moving account of the author's experiences growing up as a young, black, gay man in the American South. Through his writing, Jones explores themes of identity, family, love, and violence, offering a profound and deeply personal perspective on the complexities of the human experience.
In addition to his memoir, Jones is also the author of the poetry collection Prelude to Bruise, which won the 2015 PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry and the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award. The collection was also a finalist for the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as awards from Lambda Literary and the Publishing Triangle in 2015. Through his poetry, Jones explores themes of desire, identity, and trauma, using vivid and powerful language to create a deeply moving and memorable reading experience.
Jones currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, where he continues to write and publish both poetry and prose. His work has been widely praised for its emotional depth, intellectual rigor, and stylistic innovation, and he has established himself as a leading voice in contemporary literature. With his powerful and evocative writing, Jones continues to inspire and move readers with his unique perspective on the human experience.