Frank Chipasula

Poet and editor Frank Mkalawile Chipasula earned a BA at the University of Zambia, an MA in African American Studies at Yale University, and both an MA in creative writing and a PhD in English literature at Brown University. Exiled from his native Malawi, Chipasula frequently engages themes of censorship and exile. His poetry collections include On the Shoulders of the Mountain: A Selection of Poems (2007), Whispers in the Wings: New and Selected Poems (2001), O Earth, Wait for Me (1984), and Visions and Reflections (1972).

Chipasula’s honors include the BBC Poetry Prize and two Pushcart Prize nominations. He edited Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Love Poetry (2009) and When My Brothers Come Home: Poems from Central and Southern Africa (1985). He coedited, with his wife, Stella Chipasula, The Heinemann Book of African Women’s Poetry (1995). In 2013, Chipasula served as a judge for Poetry Out Loud's Illinois Championship. He has taught at several universities, including the University of Nebraska and Southern Illinois University. In 2018, he organized the Women’s Poetry Festival in Malawi.