A native of Mississippi, Benjamin Morris is a poet, writer, and researcher. He is the author of three books of poetry and two books of nonfiction, and his writing appears in The Oxford American, The Southern Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Lithub, The Guardian, and The Scottish Review of Books. His most recent collection of poetry, The Singing River, was published by Belle Point Press in 2025, and his next book, Defender of the Citrus: A New Orleans Love Story, will be published by University Press of Mississippi in 2027.

He holds an MSc in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh, and among other honors has received a Pushcart nomination, the Academy of American Poets Prize from Duke University, and the Chancellor’s Medal for Poetry from the University of Cambridge, where he earned his Ph.D. His work has received poetry fellowships from the Mississippi Arts Commission, academic and creative fellowships from Tulane University, and a residency from A Studio in the Woods, as well as first place in the 2021 Words & Music Writing Competition for Poetry, judged by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. He lives in New Orleans with his family.

photo by Kendra Jones Photography