Cornelius Eady, born in Rochester, New York, in 1954, has built a career exploring race, class, and family life through poetry that often carries the rhythms of jazz and blues. His accessible style has earned him wide recognition, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Strousse Award from Prairie Schooner.
Eady is the author of seven volumes of poetry, with Brutal Imagination (2001) standing out as a finalist for the National Book Award. That collection confronts racial stereotypes through two cycles of poems, one imagining the voice of the fictitious Black man Susan Smith blamed for her children’s deaths, and another examining the struggles of African‑American families. His earlier works include Kartunes (1980), Victims of the Latest Dance Craze (1985), and The Autobiography of a Jukebox (1997).
Beyond the page, Eady has collaborated with jazz composer Diedre Murray on musical theater pieces such as Running Man, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama in 1999. He also co‑founded the Cave Canem Foundation in 1996 with Toi Derricotte, creating a vital space for Black poets.
Eady has taught at institutions including NYU, Sarah Lawrence, and the University of Missouri, and as of 2025 serves as a professor at the University of Tennessee‑Knoxville. Married to novelist Sarah Micklem, he continues to shape American poetry both as a writer and mentor. Most recently, he was invited to perform an original poem at Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as New York City mayor on January 1, 2026, underscoring his ongoing role at the intersection of art and civic life.