Evie Shockley

Evie Shockley is the Zora Neale Hurston Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University, affiliated with the Writers House. Her expertise spans African American and African Diaspora Literature, Poetry, Black Feminist Thought, and Critical Race Studies. She holds a PhD from Duke University, a JD from the University of Michigan, and a BA from Northwestern University. Shockley’s research explores Black graphics, interrogating artistic strategies in the era of colorblindness ideology. She has served as Editor for Poetry (scholarship) at Contemporary Literature since 2021.

Her teaching philosophy emphasizes passion and engagement, fostering dynamic classroom environments. Awards include the Shelley Memorial Award (2023), Lannan Literary Award (2019), and Radcliffe Fellowship (2018–2019). Her poetry collections, such as semiautomatic and suddenly we, address racial and social justice. Scholarly works like Renegade Poetics redefine Black aesthetics through formal innovation.

Shockley has held visiting roles at Princeton, Washington University in St. Louis, and as a Phi Beta Kappa Scholar. She actively participates in literary communities, including the MLA and the Langston Hughes Society. Her interdisciplinary work bridges poetry, visual art, and activism, advocating for collective resilience and interconnectedness.