Jericho Brown Awarded MacArthur Fellowship

UH Alumnus Writer and Poet Earns Prestigious Genius Grant

This is a photo of Jericho Brown, 2024 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellow Genius Grant. The photo shows him standing in the street, woods behind him, wearing a bright yellow shirt and hat.

Jericho Brown, 2024 recipient of MacArthur Fellow Genius Grant

Jericho Brown, 2024 recipient of MacArthur Fellow Genius Grant

Jericho Brown Awarded MacArthur Fellowship

UH Alumnus Writer and Poet Earns Prestigious Genius Grant

By Kevin Quinn

This is a photo of Jericho Brown, 2024 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellow Genius Grant. The photo shows him standing in the street, woods behind him, wearing a bright yellow shirt and hat.

“I’m happy that my poems reach people.”
Jericho Brown

Jericho Brown (Ph.D. '07) grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, seeking refuge from a home and upbringing, he says, ravaged by violence. Today, the poet and writer is living the life he always dreamed of after just learning he has been named among a select group of 2024 MacArthur Fellows.

 “I was actually leaving the doctor's office, and I wasn't feeling well. And after they told me [about the award], I sort of forgot that I wasn't feeling well and I felt a lot better,” Brown said of his initial reaction to learning of the award. “I’m happy that my poems reach people.”

This recognition by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation honors Brown’s significant contributions to contemporary poetry and his ability to confront complex societal issues through his art. The MacArthur Fellowship, which is also known as a “Genius Grant,” is awarded to individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity, a promise for important future advances and the potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work.

Brown, who earned his Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from UH in 2007, is widely recognized for his work. His writings often explore themes of family, identity, and the intersection of race and sexuality, drawing from his own life experiences. His poems have been published in prestigious outlets such as The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Best American Poetry, resonating with readers around the globe.

“It’s a writer’s dream,” Brown told us in 2020 when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book “The Tradition.” “When I was a child, my mother would drop me and my sister off at the library to read. In a way, reading and writing have kept me safe. Despite the noise, I always had something to say. So, I took pen to paper to express my thoughts and escape my surroundings.”

According to the MacArthur Foundation, Brown writes with frankness and vulnerability about love, both filial and erotic. He explores the complexities of his identity as a Black gay man and expresses tenderness and devotion toward his mother and other Black women. In poems with astonishing lyrical beauty, Brown illuminates the experiences of marginalized people and shows the relevance and value of formal experimentation.

“Jericho Brown’s powerful engagement with the intricacies of identity and society inspires both current students and emerging writers to push boundaries and explore their unique voices in the literary world,” said Diane Z. Chase, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at UH. “His extraordinary accomplishments highlight the depth of his life experience and the literary fundamentals instilled in him through the creative writing program at UH."

Portrait of Brown standing in street, woods behind him, bright yellow shirt and hat

Jericho Brown earned his Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from UH in 2007.

Jericho Brown earned his Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from UH in 2007.

“I grew up wanting to be a writer. I imagined, ‘Oh I’ll be a great writer, and I will get every award imaginable for it.’”
Jericho Brown
This is a photo of Jericho Brown standing with his hands in his pockets in front of a building. He is wearing a yellow shirt and hat.

Coming full circle from his days at UH, Brown continues to inspire the next generation of writers as a faculty member at Emory University. He is a Winship Distinguished Research Professor and the director of the Creative Writing Program.

“What I tell students is to be bold and take risks to live their lives fully and wholly, to explore what they want to explore, to follow their curiosities. And in the midst of all that, to stand up in what they believe is right,” he said.

Brown is currently writing about gun violence and how society today, he says, has normalized mass shootings.

“I think it has to do with the ways in which we are isolated more than ever before,” he shared. He notes how technology has connected us in so many ways yet has left many feeling less connected than ever.

“The more we lessen the amount of contact that we have, the less we have opportunities for compassion toward other human beings,” Brown said.

The MacArthur Fellowship is an investment in an individual’s originality, insight and potential. They are among the most prestigious and generous awards given to those who have demonstrated extraordinary talent and dedication in academia, writing, music, film and other creative fields. Each fellowship comes with an award of $800,000, distributed in equal quarterly installments over five years, providing recipients with the freedom to pursue their creative endeavors without the constraints of specific project requirements. The program actively seeks to foster innovative, imaginative and groundbreaking ideas that address deep-rooted societal problems.

Brown is only the third UH alumnus to win a MacArthur Fellowship. Frederick C. Cuny (B.S. ’67), a disaster relief specialist, was awarded a Genius Grant in 1995. He was widely known and highly respected for his ability to restore order in situations of grave chaos and crisis and contributed to relief efforts in postwar Kuwait and Iraq, Kenya, Somalia and Sarajevo, just to name a few.

Cristina Rivera Garza (Ph.D. ’95), M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor in Hispanic Studies and director of the Ph.D. program in creative writing in Spanish, won a Genius Grant in 2020. She earned her doctorate in Latin American history from the University of Houston in 1995 and joined the University of Houston faculty in 2016. She has spent her career pursuing scholarly interests in bilingual cross-genre creative writing and won a 2024 Pulitzer Prize for her memoir “Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice.”

Artist and UH faculty member Rick Lowe, professor of interdisciplinary practice in the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts, won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2014. Lowe founded Project Row Houses in 1993 and is internationally known for his his work in developing community based art projects.

Learn more at the MacArthur Fellows Program website. You can find a complete list of 2024 MacArthur Fellows by clicking the link here.

All photos courtesy John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation