Curtis L. Crisler (born 1965) is an American poet and educator from Gary, Indiana. He is the current Indiana State Poet Laureate and a professor of English at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
He is a Cave Canem fellow and the recipient of the 2022 C&R Press Award for Poetry for his book, Doing Drive-Bys on How to Love in the Midwest. Crisler is the creator of the sonastic poetry form.
Crisler was born and raised in Gary, Indiana.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a minor in theatre, from Indiana UniversityâÂÂPurdue University Fort Wayne (now Purdue University Fort Wayne), and a Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Crisler's literary work includes poetry, young adult fiction, and chapbooks. His publications have received national awards and nominations.
Crisler has described his work as an "urban Midwestern sensibility" (uMS), "the community and creativity of the varied relationships of descendants from the first through second waves of the southern migration, exploring their connections to place/environment, history, family, and self."
Crisler's writing has appeared in literary journals including African American Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Belt Magazine.
Crisler is the creator of the sonastic, a poetic form he describes as combining elements of ekphrastic poetry and persona poetry. He is also the creator of the Indiana Chitlin Circuit, a Fort Wayne-based writing circuit.
Crisler was named Indiana's eighth official poet laureate in January 2024 by unanimous decision. He succeeded George Kalamaras.
As poet laureate, he has conducted statewide outreach through readings, workshops, and educational programs and has participated in the Indiana Authors Awards Speaker Program.