Thomas Kneeland

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Thomas Kneeland is a California-native, Mississippi-raised, African American poet, educator, and multi-hyphenate artist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. He holds a BA in English from DePauw University, an MA from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Butler University. He aspires to become a Tenured Professor of English and Creative Writing (Poetry). In the meantime, he will join the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) Aspects of Leadership Summer Institute—LEDA Scholars Program—at Princeton University this summer to serve as a Writing Faculty member.

In April 2024, Kneeland served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Indiana University-Indianapolis for the Speculative Play and Just Futurities Program, which is funded by Indiana University, the Mellon Foundation, IUI Arts & Humanities Institute, IUI Center for Africana Studies & Culture, and the Ray Bradbury Center.

His poetry has most recently appeared or is forthcoming in Southern Humanities Review, The Amistad, The Rumpus, Good River Review, Vagabond City Lit, Up the Staircase Quarterly, South Florida Poetry Journal, The Citron Review, The Wildness Journal, Rigorous Magazine, Clepsydra Literary & Art Magazine, INverse Poetry Archives, and The Hyacinth Review. His poetry submission, “Anchorman Sings the Blues,” earned a finalist place in Frontier Poetry’s 2022 Global Poetry Prize for the African continent. Although he has published several self-published titles, Kneeland is most proud of his transition into hybrid and traditional publishing.

His first hybrid, full-length poetry collection, We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep (Marian University Department of Media, Communication, and Design) has garnered national and international attention. The collection can be found in the Library of Congress and Zentralbibliothek Zürich. In January 2024, Kneeland accepted an offer of literary representation from The Bindery Agency. His most recent manuscript, Cienfuegos—a collection that explores his newly discovered Afrocuban and multiethnic lineage—is currently on submission.

In addition to his publication history, Kneeland is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of The Elevation Review. He is also a poetry referee for Callaloo, A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters. He has lived in several cities across the globe, including San Jose, CA, Greenville, MS, Greencastle, IN, and currently Indianapolis, IN.

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