Mary Jo Bang

Mary Jo Bang is a Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University, alongside degrees in Sociology and Photography. Her research focuses on contemporary literature, poetry writing, and literary translation, particularly Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Her major works include Elegy (National Book Critics Circle Award), translations of Inferno and Purgatorio, and forthcoming Paradiso. She also translates works by Matthias Göritz and Shuzo Takiguchi.

Recipient of prestigious awards like the Hodder Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Berlin Prize, her work blends classical texts with modern sensibilities. She teaches in the Writing Program at Washington University.