Photo by Christina Frigo
About
P. Scott Cunningham is a poet and essayist originally from Boca Raton, FL. He is the author of Self-Portrait as the “I” in Florida (Autumn House, 2026), winner of the 2025 Donald Justice Poetry Prize, selected by Major Jackson. His debut collection, Ya Te Veo (University of Arkansas, 2018), was selected by Billy Collins for the Miller Williams Poetry Series. Ya Te Veo was also a finalist for the National Poetry Series. His writing has appeared in The Nation, The Awl, Harvard Review, American Poetry Review, POETRY, Gulf Coast, A Public Space, The Rumpus, Michigan Quarterly Review, Monocle, RHINO, The Guardian, 68to05, American Way, and others. His translations of Alejandra Pizarnik, César Vallejo, and Frank Báez have appeared in Omniglots, H.O.W. Journal, Waxwing, and The Miami Rail.
A graduate of Wesleyan University, he is the founder and former executive director of O, Miami, a non-profit organization that celebrates Miami, FL through the lens of poetry. Named one of "20 Under 40 Emerging South Florida Leaders" by The Miami Herald and one of 51 “brilliant urbanites who are helping to build the cities of America's future" by Fast Company, he has been a featured speaker at The Aspen Institute, Breakout, Creative Many, TedX, Creative Mornings Miami, Miami Book Fair, and the Decatur Book Festival, among others.
He lives in Ilinois with his wife, the writer Christina Frigo, and their three children.