Toi Derricotte is an award-winning poet whose work tackles difficult and universal subject matter such as violence, racism, motherhood, and self-identity through an autobiographical lens. She is the author of The Undertaker’s Daughter and four previous poetry collections,including Tender, winner of the Paterson PoetryPrize. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizesand fellowships from the National Endowmentfor the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation,among other honors. Derricotte is cofounder ofCave Canem, professor emerita at the Universityof Pittsburgh, and a chancellor of the Academy ofAmerican Poets.

Toi Derricotte has lifted herself, and so she is able to transform experience into significant thought.