Shara McCallum

Shara McCallum is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English at Pennsylvania State University and served as the 2021-22 Penn State Laureate. She holds a PhD from Binghamton University, an MFA from the University of Maryland, and a BA from the University of Miami.

Her research focuses on creative writing and poetry, exploring themes through Caribbean and diasporic lenses. McCallum's work examines cultural identity and historical narratives through verse.

Awards include:

• Guggenheim Fellowship
• Silver Musgrave Medal from Jamaican government
• Witter Bynner Fellowship from US Library of Congress
• Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize