Biography
Elizabeth Hawes (she/her) writes prose, plays, and poetry. She is a Minnesotan. For the last decade, Hawes has documented and exposed cruelties within institutional structures, and amplified identity beyond conviction stories. Her central theme is hope. She writes about distance-care, communication, and how incarceration affects children and families.
Hawes has contributed to multiple anthologies such as Ecologies of Justice (Rutgers University Press) and Locker Room Talk (Sprout Press). Recent publications can be found in Defector, Lux and Prism. She is working on a series of portrait poems and writing essays for her first book, The Fuckery of Prison.
The recipient of the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize with the 2023 Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism, and multiple PEN America writing awards, her words have been projected onto Rockefeller Center during PEN America’s Centennial Art Installation Celebration: “Speech Itself.” Hawes is a promoter of incarcerated voices. With fellow poet Sean J. White, she created Convergence, a poetry project that pairs incarcerated poets across the country to forge collaborated poems. Her background is theatre. Her play, Supernova, will be workshopped this summer.
