Josh Jacobs
Current City, State, Country
Birth City, State, Country
Biography
Josh Jacobs grew up in Northern Virginia. He graduated from Amherst College with a BA in English in 1991. He earned a PhD in English at Rutgers in 1997 for his study of Adrienne Rich’s poetic ethics through the lens of philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, studying with Alicia Ostriker. After teaching at Rutgers and publishing several works of literary criticism, he transitioned to academic administration roles, first at Harvard and since 2003 at MIT, where he helped lead several international collaboration programs with British and Portuguese institutions. Currently he is the Program Co-Director of the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, a dual-degree MBA and Engineering master’s program offered by MIT Sloan, MIT School of Engineering and industrial partners. He coordinates the program’s collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University on the China LGO program, manages the program’s relationships with 20+ global industry partners, and leads alumni engagement.
In 2015 Josh returned to active study and writing of poetry. He won the 2023 Common Ground Review Poetry Contest, selected by Oliver de la Paz. His poetry has also appeared in Pangyrus, Right Hand Pointing, and Jewish Literary Journal. He was selected as a contributor to the 2024 Yetzirah Poetry Conference.
What is the relationship between Judaism and/or Jewish culture and your poetry?
I often bring Jewish themes and histories into my poetry as a context for exploring grief and mourning, my family history, and the October 7 attacks. I also write poetry of Midrash and am grateful for the Yetzirah course on this theme led by Alicia Ostriker in 2024.
Author Site
Links to Sample Works
Current Title
Education
BA in English, Amherst College, 1991
PhD in English, Rutgers University, 1997