Cyrus
Cassells

Poet. Translator. Cultural Critic. Actor. Professor. Cassells’s profound works explore identity, history, and the human experience. With a distinctive voice that combines lyrical intensity with meticulous craftsmanship, Cassells is best known for his poetry books which have earned numerous accolades, including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, a Lambda Literary Award, and two Pulitzer Prize nominations. He is also the 2025 recipient of the Jackson Poetry Prize, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors recognizing exceptional poetic achievement. Additionally, Cassells has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. From 2021 to 2022 he was appointed Poet Laureate of Texas, where he received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. He is a Regents’ Professor and University Distinguished Professor of English at TXST, where he also was awarded the Presidential Excellence Award.