Overview
Tanner Crunelle is a third-year Ph.D. student. He studies poetic form—its political affordances and ethical engagements—in transtemporal frames, with a focus on 21st- and 20th- century U.S. American poetry. Critical theory and U.S. Southern studies also reflect in his teaching, research, service, and life as a poet.
He received an M.A. in Philosophy, Art, and Social Thought from the European Graduate School in 2026 with his thesis titled “Plasticity and American Literary Forms.” Having received his M.F.A. in Poetry from College of Charleston (CofC) in 2024, his poetry can be found in Word For/Word and Sugar House Review literary magazines. His poetry has been awarded CofC’s 2024 top prize for graduate student work and the 2025 Robert Chasen Poetry Prize from Cornell.
He currently serves as the Founding Graduate Student Representative of the American Poetry & Poetics Association and mentors student leaders through an eponymous scholarship at CofC.
Research Focus
- Poetry & poetics
- Theory
- 20th- and 21st- century
- Feminist studies
- Southern (U.S.) studies