Claudia Rankine

Claudia Rankine is one of the most significant American poets of the 21st century. She is the author of the critically acclaimed 2014 collection Citizen: An American Lyric, which has earned her a slew of awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the PEN Open Book Award. Rankine is a professor of Poetry at Yale University and her work focuses on identity, race, and interactions between people. She explores the modern experience of racism and racism-based trauma, often using her own experiences as examples.

Rankine was born in Jamaica in 1963 and immigrated to New York City with her family in 1970. As a child, she had an intense passion for literature and was influenced by the speech patterns she heard in her home and by the daily conversations she observed in her community. Rankine's love of poetry began in high school and grew even further during her college years at Williams College, where she received her Bachelor's degree in 1985.

Throughout her entire career, Rankine has focused on creating new ways to express her thoughts and feelings about the modern experience of racism and racism-based trauma. Her previous work includes a collection of seven digital chapbooks entitled The Racial Imaginary (2004); Don't Let Me Be Lonely (2004) which includes works of poetry, essay, and images; and Nothing In Nature Is Private (2001).

Rankine's most acclaimed work is Citizen: An American Lyric which was published in 2014. The collection is divided into three sections entitled "Situation," "Stanzas," and "Citizen." The collection is a riveting exploration of racism, both in public and private settings. Rankine makes use of a hybrid form of prose and poetry to illustrate how racism is perpetuated in our culture through daily interactions, objects, and even through silence. The collection bridges the gap between lyricism and reality as Rankine explores the complex feelings that are evoked when we are subjected to racism and the deep-seated trauma it creates.

Citizen has experienced both critical and commercial success. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the PEN Open Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry. Rankine has earned numerous awards and fellowships through the years, including a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

Claudia Rankine is a groundbreaking poet whose work has had a lasting impact on the literary world. Her work is an important exploration of modern racism and its consequences, told in an innovative combination of lyricism and realism. Her works are highly regarded and are certain to remain a part of the modern literary canon for years to come.