Emily Skaja

Emily Skaja is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Co-Director of The Pinch Presents at the University of Memphis. She holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA from Purdue University. Her research and creative work focus on contemporary poetry, with a particular emphasis on elegiac themes, narrative techniques, and literary craftsmanship. Skaja’s debut poetry collection Brute (2019) won the Walt Whitman Award and has been widely praised for its exploration of brokenness and resilience.

• Education:
• Ph.D., Creative Writing & Literature, University of Cincinnati
• M.F.A., Creative Writing, Purdue University
• M.A., Temple University
• B.A., Millikin University

Her poetry has appeared in Blackbird, The New York Times Magazine, and FIELD, among others. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and teaches in the MFA program at the University of Memphis. Skaja also serves as the founding editor of the Poetry Prompt Generator, an online resource for poets and educators.

Awards include the Gulf Coast Poetry Prize and fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation. Her work engages with themes of identity, loss, and resilience, often weaving personal and universal narratives through precise imagery and lyrical precision.