Terrance Hayes

Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, Lighthead, won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010.

He was a professor of creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University until 2013, then taught in the English Department at the University of Pittsburgh. Currently, he teaches at New York University.

Life and education Hayes was born in Columbia, South Carolina on November 18, 1971. His second collection, Hip Logic (2002), won the National Poetry Series, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and runner-up for the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. He won the National Book Award for Lighthead in 2010. In praising Hayes's work, Cornelius Eady has said: "First you'll marvel at his skill, his near-perfect pitch, his disarming humor, his brilliant turns of phrase. Then you'll notice the grace, the tenderness, the unblinking truth-telling just beneath his lines, the open and generous way he takes in our world."

He was a professor of Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University until 2013, at which time he joined the faculty at the English Department at the University of Pittsburgh. awarded to individuals who show outstanding creativity in their work. He held the role in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he won a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for his poetry collection American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin. In 2023, Hayes, alongside Nancy Krygowski and Jeffrey McDaniel, was named editor of the Pitt Poetry Series.

He released the poetry collection So To Speak in 2023. In 2024, he had authored seven poetry collections In 2024, he remained a creative writing professor at New York University.

Awards National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship James Laughlin Award runner-up, from the Academy of American Poets 2014: MacArthur Foundation Fellow 2020: Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin 2023: Troy University's Hall-Waters Prize

Personal life Hayes and his ex-wife, the poet and professor Yona Harvey, have two children. He dated Padma Lakshmi in 2021.