ANTHONY (TONY) KEITH JR.
Author of
How the Boogeyman Became a Poet (HarperCollins, 2024)
Knucklehead (HarperCollins, 2025)
Anthony (Tony) Keith, Jr., PhD. is a Black American gay poet, spoken word artist, and Hip-Hop educational leader from Washington D.C. He is author of the debut young adult memoir in verse, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet and the young adult poetry collection Knucklehead forthcoming from Katherine Tegen Books. His feature performances include John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington National Cathedral, and the African Alliance Community Center in Arusha Tanzania. Tony’s writings appear in the Journal of Negro Education, Equity & Excellence in Education and the Journal of Black Masculinity and many others. A multi-year fellow of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Tony is founder and CEO of Ed Emcee Academy, an entrepreneurial extension of his award-winning dissertation research about Hip-Hop culture and leadership for racial equity in American education. He holds a PhD in education from George Mason University, and lives with his husband, Harry Christian III and their dog, Sage, in his DC hometown.
Books by tony
How the Boogeyman Became a Poet (HarperCollins, 2024)
A young adult memoir-in-verse tracing the author’s journey from being a closeted-gay Black high school teenager battling against poverty, racism, White supremacy, and homophobia to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds unexpected freedom in poetry.
Knucklehead (HarperCollins, 2025)
A poetry collection which takes the form of a tender love letter from an openly gay Black man to Black men and boys everywhere.