Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright and professor. She recited her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

Alexander was born on May 30, 1962, in Harlem, New York City, and grew up in Washington D.C. She graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Boston University with a Master's in creative writing. In 1992, Alexander earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

Alexander was a professor at Yale University for 15 years. In 2018, she became the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Sources:
Elizabeth Alexander: About. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from http://www.elizabethalexander.net/new-page-1

Elizabeth Alexander. (2015). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-alexander

Elizabeth Alexander. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://poets.org/poet/elizabeth-alexander

Photo Credit: Solomon Ghebreyesus