Gladys Cardiff


Gladys Cardiff is a poet and academic, with interests in Native American, African-American and American literature. She was an associate professor at Oakland University from 1999 to 2013.

Early life

Cardiff is of Irish and Welsh descent on her mother's side, and she is descended from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on her father's side. She makes use of her cultural heritage in her work, referencing especially Cherokee place names in her poetry.

Published works

Cardiff won Governor's Writer's Award for her first book of poetry, To Frighten a Storm, in 1976. She published A Bare Unpainted Table in 1999. She received awards from the Seattle Arts Commission in 1985 and 1986. "In 1988 she was a co-recipient of the University of Washington's Louisa Kerns Award for literary endeavors." Her poetry has been featured by The Poetry Foundation.