Ross Gay (born August 1, 1974) is a celebrated American poet, essayist, and professor. He has earned significant acclaim for his work, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his 2014 book Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. This work was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry.

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry, including Against Which, Bringing the Shovel Down, Be Holding—which won the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award—and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. In addition to his poetry, he has published three collections of essays, including The Book of Delights, a New York Times bestseller, Inciting Joy, and The Book of (More) Delights released in September 2023.

His poems have appeared in various prestigious publications, such as the American Poetry Review, Orion, and The Sun. He is an associate professor of poetry at Indiana University and also teaches in Drew University’s low-residency MFA program in poetry. Moreover, he serves on the board of the Bloomington Community Orchard.

Ross Gay's work and life are deeply intertwined with the exploration of joy. He is interested in understanding and studying joy as a concept and experience. His philosophy is reflected through his interviews and public speeches, where he often discusses the role of joy as a survival mechanism and act of resistance.