Saeed Jones is a poet and writer who is keenly interested in the intersection of identity, power and legacy. In all of his work, Jones seeks to make sense of how we, as individuals and as cultures, happen.

When asked what visibility means to him, Jones shares, “To me, it's about a productive sense of clarity. It's not about being "seen" in a vapid, attention-oriented sense; I think real visibility is an appreciation of a person's depth and richness."

For Jones, poetry is like music. “The pleasure and thrills of sound stitched into every line of poetry are why poetry became my first love.”

He is also the author of the memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives, winner of the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, and the poetry collection, Prelude to Bruise, winner of the 2015 PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry. His poetry and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Oxford American and GQ, among other publications. His new poetry collection, Alive at the End of The World, is out now.

The poem Saeed created for the Harry’s Pride Set explores how poetry can function as a mantra—a quiet way of reminding us of our private, specific and inherent value. He finds richness and depth in personal reflection.