In 2011 Keith O’Shaughnessy’s first book of poems, Incommunicado, won the inaugural Grolier Discovery Award, sponsored by the legendary Cambridge bookshop of the same name. His second, Last Call for Ganymede, followed in 2014 from Ilora Press. At long last, his magnum opus, Petrushka, was released by Ragged Sky Press in March 2026. Along the way he has also authored three chapbooks—Carnaval, The Devil’s Party, and Snegurochka—all with Pudding House Publications. A near-lifelong resident of Princeton, he teaches English at Camden County College in southern New Jersey.
Keith has published three books and three chapbooks of poetry over the years.
“His poetry is as impeccable and sui generis as he is ... His lines are simultaneously earnest and playful, austere and effusive, direct and multivalent. Sentences can spill across dozens of lines without losing their grammatical coherence or sense of trajectory.” —Eric McHenry, Columbia Magazine
“Immersing us in the worlds of classical mythology, Dante, and Shakespeare, the poems in Last Call for Ganymede do not rely on description or allusion. Rather, Keith O’Shaughnessy inhabits and animates Phaedra, Cleopatra, Beatrice, and many others, and does so with lyric precision and crackling wit. The poems in this collection are like filigreed lightning.” —Rachel Hadas
“Keith O’Shaughnessy’s book of poems Incommunicado is a marvel of craft and passion . . . These poems are bold, they are well made, and they dare the reader to drop everything and join the dance.” —Ifeanyi Menkiti
