Benjamin Naka-Hasebe Kingsley

Benjamin Naka-Hasebe Kingsley is an Indigenous American writer and poet. Benjamin belongs to the Onondaga Nation. He is most recognized for his collections: Colonize Me (Saturnalia, 2019) and Not Your Mama’s Melting Pot (Backwaters Press, 2018). He has also released another collection, Dēmos: An American Multitude (Milkweed Editions, 2021).

Education Kingsley got his Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Colonize Me Colonize Me is Kingsley's second poetry collection. The poems in the collection are often based on his real experiences. The collection won an Eric Hoffer Award.

Dēmos: An American Multitude Dēmos: An American Multitude was released on March 7, 2021.

He currently works as a professor at Cedarville University.

Personal life Kingsley grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania. His parents were both factory workers at a True Temper wheelbarrow factory. According to Kingsley, he was maced by a police officer without reason on the street at night. He then stumbled into oncoming traffic, before going to a local pizza shop, where patrons helped clear his eyes with water. He was comforted by the presence of his friend. 2019 Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize Fellowship from Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown 2017 VONA/Voices of Our Nation 2017–2019 Gilman School Tickner Writing Fellow