Sherod Santos was born in Greenville, South Carolina. He attended San Diego State University for both his BA and MA, before continuing his studies at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Utah. His numerous awards and honors include poetry awards from the Academy of American Poets, a Pushcart Prize, the Oscar Blumenthal Prize from Poetry magazine and several fellowships. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Missouri, Columbia.