Tyrone Williams

Poet Tyrone Williams was born in Detroit, Michigan and earned his BA, MA, and PhD at Wayne State University. He is the author of a number of chapbooks, including Convalescence (Ridgeway Press, 1987); Futures, Elections (Dos Madres Press, 2004); Musique Noir (Overhere Press, 2006); and Pink Tie (Hooke Press, 2011), among others. His full-length collections of poetry include c.c. (Krupskaya, 2002); On Spec (Omnidawn, 2008); The Hero Project of the Century (The Backwaters Press, 2009); Adventures of Pi (Dos Madres, 2011); and Howell (Atelos, 2011). Williams’s work draws on a variety of sources to challenge and investigate language, history, and race.

In an interview with The Volta, Williams noted, “I don’t revere the English language but I use it and, on occasion, abuse it.” And of his interest in grammar and linguistics, he stated: “every grammatical marker is purposeful, every torque of the language renders meaning problematic, which seems to me the precise condition of African-American existence in particular and American life in general.” Williams is the editor of African American Literature: Revised Edition (Salem Press, 2008). He teaches at Xavier University in Cincinnati.