I’m talking about crestfallenness on the Poetry Magazine podcast.
New Essay in Poetry Magazine
I wrote an essay on crestfallenness for the October 2023 issue of Poetry.
White Blood Wins Poetry Center Book Award from SFSU
White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia was selected by San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin for the Poetry Center Book Award from San Francisco State University. I’ll read with Eisen-Martin at a virtual event on Dec. 1.
2022 MacDowell Fellow
I’m delighted to be among this year’s MacDowell Fellows & am so looking forward to my upcoming residency!
Bright Reviewed in Foreword Reviews
Bright: A Memoir is reviewed in Foreword Reviews:
“Through methodical introspection, this collection reflects on the history, the dangers, and the joys of navigating a land that questions the validity of a voice.”
Bright reviewed in Southern Review of Books
Read this thoughtful review of Bright: A Memoir over at the Southern Review of Books.
“Bright is a deeply moving story about love throughout time”
Interview in Edelweiss + by Above the Treeline
An Excerpt from Bright in Lithub
Happy Pub Day to Bright: A Memoir! Read an excerpt today at Lithub.
The Root Says You Should Read Bright!
Bright is listed among the books by Black authors “you should read this month” at The Root!
Bright is One of PW's Picks
Bright comes out next week & Publisher’s Weekly has listed it among their “Books of the Week!”
BRIGHT is listed among Essence's "Can't Wait" Summer Reads
Bright: A Memoir is listed among “18 New Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer” at Essence!
BRIGHT Receives a Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly
I’m delighted to share that Bright: A Memoir has received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly!
“While brief, her work packs a hefty punch, offering a luminous descent into the complicated racial history of the United States and a nuanced path to a more expansive future.”
"Monticello House Tour" in The New York Times Magazine
“Monticello House Tour,” a poem from White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia, is featured this week in The New York Times Magazine as part of Victoria Chang’s poetry column.
Three Poems in Jubilat 39
The venerable literary magazine jubilat has just published its final issue & I have three poems from a forthcoming project therein, with an audio reading at the link. It’s an honor to be included in this tribute to one of the finest journals we have.
White Blood wins the 2021 Spalding Prize for the Promotion of Peace & Justice in Literature
White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia has won the 2021 Spalding Prize for the Promotion of Peace & Justice in Literature! I’ll travel to Louisville in November to read & share with graduate students in Spalding’s Brief Residency MFA Program. White Blood will be the fall residency’s book-in-common.
”The Spalding Prize was established by the School of Writing to honor a work of literature that exemplifies the mission of Spalding University and our community’s core commitment to compassion and includes a cash award of $7,500.”
White Blood is Shortlisted for A Library of Virginia Literary Award
White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia is a finalist for a Library of Virginia Literary Award in Poetry. Below is the full list of amazing finalists in each category.
From the Library:
“In 1997, the Library of Virginia established its annual Literary Awards program to honor Virginia writers and celebrate their contributions to the literary landscape of our state and nation.”
White Blood is Nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry
White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia has been nominated for a Legacy Award in Poetry from the Hurston/Wright Foundation! It’s an honor to be included among these incredible poets. This year’s (virtual) ceremony is October 15.
From the Foundation:
”The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award TM honors the best in Black literature in the United States and around the globe. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organization of Black writers. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry honorees are selected in a juried competition.”
Hurston/Wright Legacy Nominees in Poetry
White Blood wins the 2021 UNT Rilke Prize
I’m thrilled to share big news: White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia has won the 2021 UNT Rilke Prize from the University of North Texas. The prize recognizes “an exceptional book by a mid-career poet.” Many thanks to UNT Director of Creative Writing Corey Marks & to UNT Professor Jehanne Dubrow for selecting my book for this wonderful recognition.
Poem I Wish I Had Read
Fellow poet Matt Donovan at the Poetry Center at Smith College put together a video series called “The Poem I Wish I Had Read” project. As he described the project to me, “I want to ask poets to choose one poem they wish they would have encountered as a teenager, and then compile videos of them offering some kind of brief personal testimony about why that poem would have spoken to them for whatever reason, followed by a reading of the poem.”
I chose the 8th century Gaelic poem, “Donal Og” for my contribution.
Announcing Bright: My first essay collection (2022)!
Sarabande Books will publish my first collection of essays, Bright, in 2022.
