Chris L. Butler

Poet

Hamilton, ON
Canada
Ontario CA

Author's Bio

Chris L. Butler is a Black American poet-essayist born and raised in Philadelphia, PA living in the Greater Toronto Area. Chris’ work touches on the subjects of popular culture, music, history, and politics. He has performed his poetry at the University of Southern California, THE GRAND (Calgary), Alcove Centre for the Arts, Chinook Blast 2023, and TELUS Spark Science Centre. In 2023, he became the Editor in Chief of The Poetry Question. In 2021, he won the Kurt Brown Fellowship for Diverse Voices at Pine Manor College. He is a graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown (B.S.) and Xavier University (A.A.). Chris is committed to the liberation of all oppressed peoples. He is a 3x Pushcart Prize nominee and 1x Best of the Net nominee.

Publications & Prizes

Chapbooks:
Inside the Garden of Alchemy with DMX and Karl Marx (Ghost City Press, 2025)
,
Melodies of the Oppressed (Ethel, 2025)
,
marchin’ forward under the empire’s blazing sun (Ghost City Press, 2024)
,
BLERD: '80s BABY, '90s KID (Kindle Singles, 2021)
,
Sacrilegious: Poems & Prose (Lulu Press, 2021)
Journals:
Bayou Review
,
CV2
,
Daily Drunk
,
Fevers of the Mind
,
Hellebore
, ,
Lumiere Review
,
Perhappened
, , ,
Trampset
,
Variant Literature
,
Versification
,
Wine Cellar Press
Prizes won: 

2021 Kurt Brown Fellowship for Diverse Voices, 2020 Daily Drunk Mag Chapbook Contest, and 2020 Nightingale & Sparrow Chapbook Contest.

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jericho Brown, Danez Smith, A.R. Arthur, Khalisa Rae, Samantha Jones, Wakefield Brewster, Reggie Johnson, and Denzel Xavier Scott.

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
African American, Black, Canadian, Native American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania
Raised in: 
Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jun 21, 2025