Meta DuEwa Jones

Meta DuEwa Jones is an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a joint appointment in African American and African Diaspora Studies. She holds a PhD from Stanford University (2001) and has authored The Muse is Music: Jazz Poetry from the Harlem Renaissance to the Spoken Word (2011), awarded honorable mention for the MLA William Sanders Scarborough Prize. Her research explores African American literature, inter-arts collaborations, and critical race studies, supported by prestigious fellowships from institutions like the National Humanities Center and the Mellon Foundation.

Her current manuscript, Black Alchemy, is a hybrid work blending poetry, theory, and memoir. Jones has published widely in venues such as ELH, Cambridge University Press, and MELUS, with a focus on jazz poetry, diaspora aesthetics, and literary theory. She has received awards including the Public Voices Fellowship (2016–2017) and the Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellowship (2008–2009).

Teaching highlights include courses on Black Visual Narratives, Critical Race Theory, and the Black Arts Movement. Jones actively engages with visual art through collaborative projects, such as exhibitions at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. Her work bridges creative scholarship and academic rigor, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to African diasporic cultural production.