[2] His work has been praised for its “language simultaneously urban and highbrow… snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal.”[3] Pardlo's first volume of poems, Totem, was chosen by Brenda Hillman as the winner of the 2007 American Poetry Review / Honickman First Book Prize, distributed by Copper Canyon Press.

[2] Pardlo is the translator of the full-length poetry collection Pencil of Rays and Spike Mace by Danish poet Niels Lyngsø.

[10] His poem "Wishing Well" appeared in The Best American Poetry 2014, guest edited by Terrance Hayes, following initial publication in Painted Bride Quarterly.

[12] In 2016, Pardlo accepted a tenure-track faculty position with the English department at his alma mater, Rutgers University-Camden.

[9][12][14] As of 2023, Pardlo is a Visiting Associate Professor of Practice in Literature & Creative Writing at NYU Abu Dhabi.