The John Barr Reading Series: Jamaal May

The John Barr Reading Series, through the generosity of the Poetry Foundation’s first president, annually presents one or two poets of extraordinary accomplishment and promise. Jamaal May, whose reading launches the series, is the author of Hum (2013), The Big Book of Exit Strategies (2016), and two chapbooks, The God Engine and The Whetting of Teeth. He has won a Beatrice Hawley Award and the ALA Notable Book Award, and was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award. May is the series editor, graphic designer, and filmmaker for the Organic Weapon Arts Chapbook and Video Series.