University of Georgia poet and scholar Ed Pavlić was named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow, according to an April 16 announcement. Pavlić, who serves as Distinguished Research Professor of English and African American Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was selected from nearly 5,000 applicants as one of 223 fellows for the program’s 101st class.
The Guggenheim Fellowship is regarded as a significant recognition for professionals in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The award provides recipients with funding to pursue independent work at a high level under minimal restrictions.
“Ed Pavlić’s selection as a Guggenheim Fellow is a remarkable honor and a powerful affirmation of the scope and significance of his work,” said Benjamin C. Ayers, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia. “Through scholarship and creative practice of extraordinary depth and cultural importance, he exemplifies the highest standards of excellence in the humanities and brings significant distinction to the University of Georgia.”
Pavlić has written thirteen books including poetry collections, a novel, critical studies on literature, music, film, as well as essays published in more than sixty magazines. His recent work has focused on James Baldwin—another former Guggenheim Fellow—who is recognized for his literary contributions during the twentieth century civil rights era.
Currently under contract with Henry Holt & Company to publish “Darker than Blue: A Radical Life of James Baldwin,” Pavlić draws on extensive archival research including four decades’ worth of correspondence between Baldwin and his brother David. These letters have not previously been accessible to scholars but were made available by Baldwin’s family.
“I’m immensely grateful to the Guggenheim Foundation,” Pavlić said. “This support is like pure oxygen for a writer like me — the contemplative space and uninterrupted focus enabled by this utterly unique kind of support will benefit ‘Darker Than Blue’ in ways impossible to forecast. The fellowship will directly enhance my ability to script encounters with this crucial figure, his incredible work as well as the eras he engaged in such powerful and unique ways. In learning more about the great artists, and Baldwin is one of the greatest, we learn things that are otherwise impossible to discern about ourselves and each other.”
With assistance from this fellowship grant, Pavlić plans to complete his biography by its anticipated publication date in 2028.
“Ed is a prolific scholar whose work on Baldwin has illuminated the complexity of this great artist,” said Anna Stenport, dean of Franklin College. “I’m so proud that the Guggenheim Foundation is supporting a project that I believe will become the resource for those seeking to understand Baldwin against the sociopolitical backdrop of his time.”
