Natasha Trethewey (b. 1966)
Trethewey’s poetry has consistently engaged with American history, most notably the country’s contradictory relationship to racial identity. In addition, the poet draws on her own experience as the daughter of a white father and African American mother, producing poetry collections that have received much praise and recognition. Her book Native Guard won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. That collection contains poems to Trethewey’s recently deceased mother, as well as a group of sonnets written in the voice of a Black soldier fighting in the Civil War. In 2012 Trethewey was named the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States.
