Carolyn Hembree

Carolyn Hembree is a full professor in the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program at the University of New Orleans, where she has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for over twenty years. She also serves as Poetry Editor of Bayou Magazine.

Her educational background includes a B.A. in English and Theatre from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona.

Hembree's research centers on contemporary American poetry with emphasis on lyric and narrative forms. Her work explores themes of identity, Southern landscapes, bodily experience, and personal history through confessional and autobiographical lenses. She is particularly known for innovative structural approaches in both short and long poetic forms, often blending narrative intensity with lyrical precision.

Her publications reveal an evolution from intimate explorations of body and self in early work toward expansive meditations on time, memory, and escape in recent collections. The poetry consistently engages Southern cultural contexts while addressing universal human experiences through distinctive linguistic experimentation.

Her major recognitions include:

• Trio Award (2015) for 'Rigging a Chevy into a Time Machine and Other Ways to Escape a Plague'
• Rochelle Ratner Memorial Award (2015)
• University of New Orleans Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award (2017)
• ATLAS grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents (2016-2017)
• PEN fellowship
• Louisiana Division of the Arts support
• Southern Arts Federation fellowship
• Poetry by the Sea Book Award Runner-up (2024) for 'For Today'

As an educator, Hembree has mentored generations of writers through UNO's M.F.A. program, teaching courses including Poetry Workshop, The Craft of Poetry, and Writing the Long Poem in both online and classroom settings. Her creative practice is sustained by competitive grants that support literary production and editorial work with Bayou Magazine.

She maintains active literary citizenship through editorial leadership and ongoing contributions to major poetry journals, shaping contemporary poetic discourse while developing new creative projects.