Life

Thirkield was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...

, and was a Truman Capote Fellow at the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop. Thirkfield was born and raised in New York City.

He achieved critical acclaim for his debut poetry collection, The Waker's Corridor, which won the 2008 Walt Whitman Award, as selected by Linda Bierds

Linda Bierds

Linda Louise Bierds is an American poet and professor of English and creative writing at the University of Washington, where she also received her B.A...

 and presented by the Academy of American Poets

Academy of American Poets

The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...

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His poems have been featured in several journals, including WebConjunctions, The Colorado Review, and American Letters & Commentary, among others.