Dennis L. Winston

Dennis L. Winston serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English within the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, where he bridges academic scholarship with cultural practice through teaching and community engagement.

His research focuses on:

• African American and African Diaspora literary traditions
• Creative writing pedagogy and practice
• Hip-hop as literary and cultural expression
• Popular black literature and urban narratives

His scholarly output centers on analyzing street literature's representation of urban landscapes, with poetry published in Callaloo and editorial leadership of Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture. Recent work demonstrates consistent exploration of Black cultural production through interdisciplinary lenses combining literary analysis, performance studies, and urban sociology.

Dr. Winston actively cultivates community-academic connections through his live performance series Hip Hop is Lit!, which collaborates with Washington D.C. hip-hop artists to explore literary dimensions of contemporary music culture. This initiative exemplifies his commitment to translating scholarly work into public-facing cultural dialogue.