Summerhill is a poet, essayist and scholar from Oakland, California. His work has appeared in Columbia Journal, Obsidian, The Wall Street Journal, the Academy of American Poets, and elsewhere. He is the author of “Divine, Divine, Divine” (Nomadic Press 2021), a semi-finalist for the Wheeler and Saturnalia Poetry Prizes, and “Mausoleum of Flowers” (CavanKerry Press 2022).

A two-time Pushcart and Best of the Net Nominee, Summerhill was invited by the U.S. Embassy to guest lecture and perform in Durban, South Africa in 2018 as a part of the International Poetry Africa Festival. He has earned fellowships from Baldwin for the Arts and The Watering Hole. His research and critical work can be found in The Massachusetts Reading Association, Writing Program Administration Journal, and elsewhere. He is the inaugural poet laureate of Monterey County.

Summerhill has an A.A. in African-American/Black Studies from Laney College; a B.A., magna cum laude, in English language and literature/letters from The College of Saint Rose, and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Boston College.