Howard L. Craft

Howard L. Craft is the Piller Professor of the Practice in the Department of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Specializing in Writing for the Screen and Stage, he is a distinguished playwright, poet, and arts educator known for works blending cultural narratives with innovative storytelling. His plays include Freight: The Five Incarnations of Able Green (NY Times Critic Pick, 2015) and The Jade City Chronicles, which inspired the radio serial The Jade City Pharaoh.

Craft’s research interests span theater, poetry, and African American cultural expression. He has received the North Carolina Arts Council Playwriting Fellowship and two NCCU New Play Project awards. Notable publications include poetry collections Across The Blue Chasm (2000) and Raising the Sky (2016), alongside essays in The Paris Review and The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre.

Collaborations include creating The Jade City Pharaoh with Frank Stasio of WUNC. His teaching emphasizes creative writing and arts education, reflecting a commitment to community engagement through the arts.