Toi Derricotte
Professor of English
412-624-6527
toiderri@pitt.edu
CL 517-D
Toi Derricotte has published four books of poems, The Empress of the Death House, Natural Birth, Captivity, and Tender, winner of the 1998 Paterson Poetry Prize, and a memoir, The Black Notebooks.
Research and Publications: The Black Notebooks was a recipient of the 1998 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Nonfiction Award, and was nominated for the PEN Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir. It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She has won numerous awards including two fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, and two Pushcart Prizes. She was a judge for the Lenore Marshall Award sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. She is the co-founder of Cave Canem, the historic first workshop/retreat for African American poets.
Teaching
Graduate Courses
- Poetry Workshop
- Topics in Poetry
- Race and Gender in 20th Century American Poetry
Undergraduate Courses
- Creative Writing Workshop
- Poetry Workshop
- Topics in Poetry
- Senior Seminar
Other Duties & Service
- Member, Graduate Admissions Committee
- Member, Pedagogy & Difference Committee
