Jeffrey Perkins is a queer poet who was raised on a farm in rural New Hampshire. He earned his BA from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana in Peace and Global Studies and his MA in American Studies from University of Massachusetts Boston. He received his MFA in Poetry from Bennington College where he was the recipient of the Jane Kenyon Memorial Scholarship. His poems have been published in Tupelo Quarterly, The Adroit Journal, Memorious, Rhino, The Cortland Review and The Massachusetts Review, among other journals.
His first book of poems, Kingdom, is due out from Spork Press in Spring 2019. He is the co-author, with Frances Moore Lappe, of You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
photo © Nir Arieli
During his residency, Jeffrey Perkins will explore themes of queer identity and spirituality, as he works on his second book of poems, tentatively titled Signs. The book will build on his first book of poems, Kingdom, released in Spring 2019 by Spork Press. Using his rural roots and adult urban experiences, Perkins will explore how identity grows in relation to context and how perceived divisions can be bridged toward new ways of relating and experiencing the world.