John Davis Jr.

Poet

Tampa, FL
Florida US
Email: 
poetjohndavisjr@gmail.com
Website: 
www.poetjohndavisjr.com

Author's Bio

Growing up as an eighth-generation Floridian on a citrus farm, John Davis Jr. understood from an early age the unique rhythms and energies that come from agriculture. The beautiful and pragmatic sensations inherent to growing crops became a constant in the pastoral works of his youth. Since those formative poetic years, the geographic and stylistic scope of Davis's work has broadened. But even now, his ancestors and their land manage to slip their imagery and diction into his poems.

Writers Retreats: 
DISQUIET International Literary Program
Juniper Summer Writing Institute

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Thirty-three (Negative Capability Press, 2014)
,
Strong Voices (Lives You Touch Publications, 2013)
Books:
The Places That Hold (EastOver Press, 2021)
,
Hard Inheritance (Five Oaks Press, 2016)
,
Middle Class American Proverb (Negative Capability Press, 2014)
,
Growing Moon, Growing Soil: Poems of my Native Land (Outskirts Press, 2005)
Chapbook:
The Boys of Men (Aldrich Press, 2014)
Journals:
Belle Reve Literary Journal
,
Big River Poetry Review
,
Cantilevers: A Journal of the Arts
,
Dash Literary Journal
,
Deep South Magazine
,
Emerge Literary Journal
,
Floyd County Moonshine
,
Frigg Magazine
,
Gravel Literary Journal
,
Hobo Camp Review
,
Kentucky Review
,
Miller's Pond
,
Nashville Review
,
Saw Palm
,
Steel Toe Review
,
The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature
,
The Furnace Review
,
Touch: The Journal of Healing
,
Town Creek Poetry
,
Wayfarer
Prizes won: 

Sidney Lanier Poetry Prize (First Place), 2021. Pushcart Prize nominations, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018. First Place: Florida State Poets Association Formal Verse Competition, 2013. Third Place: Robert Frost International Poetry and Haiku Contest, The Studios of Key West, April 2012.Wesley Ryals Award for Creative Writing in Poetry, Florida Southern College, 2002.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Peter Meinke, Erica Dawson, Dana Gioia, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Lucille Clifton, William Carlos Williams, Rita Dove, The Fugitives, Kevin Young, Jake Adam York, C.D. Wright, Virginia Konchan, Robert Wrigley, and so many, many others.
What I'm reading now: 
Tamp by Denton Loving

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Christian, White
Prefers to work with: 
Adults, At Risk Youth, Children, Disability, Homelessness, Illness/Wellness, Incarcerated individuals, Seniors, Teachers, Teenagers, Veterans
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Jacksonville, FL
Florida
Raised in: 
Wauchula, FL
Florida
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jul 11, 2023