Jennifer L. Knox


Jennifer L. Knox is an American poet.

Life and career

Knox was born in Lancaster, California and grew up in the Mojave Desert. Her father was an accountant from Nova Scotia, and her mother was a speech therapist. She is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Iowa, and her M.F.A. in poetry writing from New York University. She has taught poetry writing at Hunter College, New York University, and Iowa State University.
Her first book of poems, A Gringo Like Me, was published in 2005 by Soft Skull Press. A second edition was printed in 2007 by . Her subsequent three books were published by Bloof Books. Her fifth book, Crushing It, was published by in 2020.
From 2016 to 2017, Knox was the developer and curator of, a crowd-sourced poem project.
She lives in Central Iowa, where she and her partner operate, a small spice blend company.

Awards

2016 Iowa Arts Council Fellowship

Selected works

Books

  • Crushing It
  • Days of Shame and Failure
  • The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway
  • Wir Fürchten Uns
  • Drunk By Noon
  • ''A Gringo Like Me''

Poetry

Essays

  • “Iowa Bird of Mouth: Keep a 12-Month Crowdsourced Poetry Project in the Air," American Poetry Review, July/August 2018 The Washington Post, April 9, 2018
  • “Culinary Memoirs of a Non-chef,” The Inquisitive Eater: New School Food, November 8, 2017
  • Magma, “I Chose the Poodle: Thwarting Expectations and Shooting Yourself in the Foot with Humour," November 2016

Anthologies

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, 2022