Chad Abushanab

Chad Abushanab is a poet, literary critic, and professor. His poems have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, Best New Poets, Poetry Daily, Birmingham Poetry Review, Ecotone, Southern Poetry Review, Measure: A Journal of Formal Poetry, Shenandoah, The Hopkins Review, Unsplendid, and 32 Poems, among others. He was the winner of the 2018 Donald Justice Poetry Prize. His debut poetry collection, The Last Visit, was selected by Jericho Brown and published by Autumn House Press in March 2019.

Education

B.A. in English, College of Charleston
M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry), Vanderbilt University
Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing, Texas Tech University

Specialization in Teaching

Creative Writing
Modern and Contemporary Literature

Research Interests

Modern and Contemporary American Poetry
Literature of the American South
Poetic Forms and Structures

Professional Service

Chad is a professor in the Creative Writing Department's M.F.A. and B.F.A. programs

Community Engagement

Contest Judge, Cow Creek Chapbook Prize, Pittsburg State University, 2023.
Workshop Leader, “The Written Word Heard: From the Page to the Stage,” Poetry by the Sea, 2023.
Workshop Leader, “Planning for Surprise: Poetic Structures and Forms,” Iowa City Poetry, 2022.
Workshop Leader, “Free Generative Workshop,” Iowa City Poetry, 2022.
Contest Judge, Collins Poetry Prize, Birmingham Poetry Review, 2021.
Instructor, Iowa Youth Writing Project, Iowa City, Iowa 2018-2020.
Volunteer, Lubbock Literacy Program, Lubbock, Texas, 2018.
Moderator, Graduate Research Panel, Texas Tech, 2017.
Volunteer, Lubbock Festival of Books, 2017.
Workshop Leader, Tennessee Young Writers’ Workshop, University School of Nashville, 2013.
Poetry Contest Judge for The Vanderbilt Review, Vanderbilt University, 2013.
MFA Vice President to the English Graduate Student Association, Vanderbilt University,
2011-2012.
Graduate Writing Consultant, Vanderbilt University Writing Studio, 2010-2011.
Writer in Residence, The Commons at Vanderbilt University, 2010-2011.
Volunteer Instructor, Low Country Initiative for the Literary Arts, Charleston, S.C., 2009-2010.

Honors & Awards

Walter E. Dakin Fellowship in Poetry, Sewanee Writers’ Conference 2019
Donald Justice Poetry Prize, West Chester University Poetry Center 2018
Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Texas Tech University 2018-2019
Pushcart Prize Nomination, Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry 2017
(for “Girl Found Dead...”)
Graduate Student Research Assistance Grant, Texas Tech University 2017
William Bryan Gates Graduate Award in English, Texas Tech University 2017
First Runner-Up, JOINT Video Poem Jury Prize, “A Microscopic Study 2016
of Family Negatives, 24A” (Motion Poem with artist Kristen Swartz)
Second Runner-Up, JOINT Video Poem Jury Prize, “Dead Town,” 2016
(Motion Poem with artist Jennifer Fisk)
Mary Sue Carlock/Joyce Thompson Scholarship, Texas Tech University 2016
Pushcart Prize Nomination, 32 Poems (for “Halloween”) 2015
PhD/MFA Scholarship, Sewanee Writers’ Conference 2015
Benjamin Rude Memorial Scholarship, Texas Tech University 2015
Helen Devitt Jones Scholarship in Creative Writing, Texas Tech University 2014-2016
Honorable Mention, Academy of American Poets Prize, 2011
Vanderbilt University, for “The Gravedigger.” Judge: Elizabeth Spires.
Scholarship, Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Summer School, 2011
Queens University-Belfast, Belfast, N.I., June 27-July 1
Sedberry Poetry Award, Vanderbilt University 2011
Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing, Vanderbilt University 2010-2012