A smiling man with glasses, a beard, and a shaved head, sitting on a black and white checkered floor against a plain beige wall. He is wearing a red button-up shirt, black pants, and black sneakers.

Photo Credit: Leah Tribbett, Leah Trib Productions

THOMAS KNEELAND is an award-winning author, writer, speaker, educator, scholar, and poet whose creative and academic research explores ancestry, ecological memory, and the effects of intergenerational trauma in Black, Afro-Latine, and Afro-Indigenous communities. He is deeply committed to making space for voices of those who have been historically marginalized by teaching creative writing workshops in the Indianapolis community and beyond. 

To aid in the formation of his creative and academic contributions, Kneeland has received grants and fellowships from the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) as well as the IU Indianapolis Arts & Humanities Institute (IAHI). He was a recipient of a 2024 CICF Artist Ambassador Travel Grant and was awarded a 2024 Speculative Play & Just Futurities Fellowship from IAHI. 

Recently named a 2025 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Kneeland served as a Writing Faculty member for the LEDA Scholars Aspects of Leadership Summer Institute at Princeton University before joining the Department of Humanities at Anderson University as an Assistant Professor of English. Kneeland is also the author of the chapbook, We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep. His poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in critically-acclaimed journals including Prairie Schooner, Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, The Rumpus, Modern Language Studies Journal, Pamenar Press, South Florida Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.

ACCOLADES

  • A smiling man with glasses and a beard, wearing a red shirt and black pants, sitting on a checkered black and white floor against a plain, light-colored wall.

    GREENVILLE NATIVE, THOMAS KNEELAND, NAMED ONE OF 2025's EMERGING SCHOLARS

    DELTA DEMOCRAT TIMES

    “As Kneeland continues to inspire through his teaching and writing, he carries Greenville’s legacy with him, proving that roots in the Delta can grow to reach far beyond its borders…” — READ MORE

  • Cover of a magazine titled "Diverse" with a young woman wearing glasses and a bright pink fur coat, smiling and flexing her arm in a gesture of strength. The magazine celebrates its 40th anniversary and features the headline "Excellence in Action" with a subheading about diverse scholars at the University of Vermont.

    A POETIC PATH TO SOCIAL CHANGE - THOMAS KNEELAND

    DIVERSE: ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

    “Since becoming a poet, Kneeland has devoted his career to using literature to advocate for a more just society.” — READ MORE

  • Smiling Black man with glasses and a beard wearing a black polo shirt, in an indoor setting.

    PROFESSOR THOMAS KNEELAND NAMED 2025 EMERGING SCHOLAR

    ANDERSON UNIVERSITY

    Anderson, Ind. — Anderson University’s Thomas Kneeland has been named one of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s 2025 Emerging Scholars of the Year. Recipients are nominated by their peers. Each scholar is selected based on research, educational background, publishing record, teaching record, competitiveness in field of study, and uniqueness of field of study. — READ MORE