Two Johns Hopkins faculty members receive Guggenheim Fellowships

Johns Hopkins University faculty members Martha Jones and David Yezzi have been named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows, a prestigious distinction that recognizes achievements and exceptional promise. They are among a group of 198 scholars, artists, and writers selected from nearly 3,500 applicants.

Image caption: Martha Jones and David Yezzi

Jones, the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor in the Department of History and a professor at the SNF Agora Institute, received a fellowship in the field of U.S. history. A writer, historian, legal scholar, and public intellectual, her work is devoted to understanding the politics, culture, and poetics of Black America. Her work has received support and recognition from organizations including The Pulitzer Center, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the American Society for Legal History. Jones is also the director of graduate studies in the History Department, as well as the director of the Hard Histories at Hopkins project.

"​​During a time in which historians and the narratives they produce are being vilified, condemned, and suppressed, the support of the Guggenheim Fellowship affirms our place in this democracy, and then it propels us forward even in the face of strong and menacing headwinds," Jones says.

Yezzi is a professor of poetry in the Writing Seminars. He has written five books of poetry, including his most recent, Late Romance: Anthony Hecht—A Poet's Life, a biography of poet Anthony Hecht. He previously served as poetry editor of The New Criterion, editor-in-chief of The Hopkins Review, and editor of The Swallow Anthology of New American Poets. Yezzi is also involved in theatre—his verse play Schnauzer (2018), produced by The Baltimore Poets Theater, was published by Exot Books, and his libretto for David Conte's opera Firebird Motel has been widely performed and is available on CD from Arsis. He is a 2024-2026 member of the acting company at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

"The recognition by the Guggenheim judges is a huge shot in the arm," Yezzi says. "The foundation's support of my creative work means that I can make writing my primary focus for an extended period, during which I hope to tackle more extended projects in both poetry and prose."

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by U.S. Sen. Simon Guggenheim and his wife as a memorial to their son. Fellowships provide financial assistance to scholars and artists pursuing research in any field of knowledge or arts.