Allison Hedge Coke facts for kids

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, born on August 4, 1958, is an American poet and editor. Her first book, Dog Road Woman, won the American Book Award. It was also a top finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize and the Diane DeCora Award. Since then, she has written five more books and helped edit eight collections of writings. She is known for writing about important topics. These include culture, fairness, rights, the environment, peace, and how people work together.

Early Life and Learning Journey

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke was born in Amarillo, Texas. She shares that her family has roots from many different places. These include French-Canadian, English, Irish, Welsh, and Portuguese backgrounds. She also identifies with Cherokee and Huron heritage. She sees herself as Native American. Her paternal grandfather, Vaughn, chose not to enroll himself or his children in a Native tribe. He did this to protest the Dawes Act. This act was a law that affected Native American lands and people.

Hedge Coke had a unique path in her education. She left high school early to work in farm fields. She did this to support herself. At 16, she earned her GED, which is like a high school diploma. Soon after, she took classes at North Carolina State University. There, she studied photography, traditional arts, and writing. She also learned about acting and directing at Estelle Harmon's Actors Workshop. Later, she earned degrees in creative writing and poetry.

A Career in Writing and Teaching

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke has had a long and impressive career. She has held many important positions. In 2004, she was a special visiting professor at Hartwick College. She is also a respected member of several arts and writing groups. These include the Black Earth Institute and the MacDowell Colony for the Arts. She has also been a fellow at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center for Great Plains Studies.

From 2007 to 2012, she was a distinguished professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She taught poetry and creative writing there. She also taught in the University of Nebraska's low-residency MFA program. This program allows students to study from different locations.

She has been a visiting artist and writer at many other universities. These include the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She also taught at the University of California Riverside and Northern Michigan University. Since 2015, she has been a founding faculty member. This is for the low-residency MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also teaches at Oklahoma City University. Currently, she is a distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.

Exploring Poetry and Themes

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke's poetry often explores deep themes. Her work Blood Run is a collection of 66 poems. It was inspired by the ancient Mound Builders of Native American cultures. These poems bring to life the history of these sites. They give a voice to people, animals, plants, and old structures. The collection also shares hope for protecting these sacred places in the future.

In her poem America I sing you back from Streaming, she shares her concerns. She wrote it about 12 years ago. She was worried about how politicians were using natural resources. This poem can be seen as a different way of looking at American identity. It follows in the tradition of famous poems like Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing. It also connects to Langston Hughes's I too. In 2022, she published Look at This Blue. This book was recognized for the 2022 National Book Award for Poetry.

Music and Recordings

• Streaming, Long Person Records (Yvwi Gvnahita), with trio project Rd Klā (album)

Awards and Honors

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke has received many awards for her work.

• In 2016, she was given the Witter Bynner Fellowship. This was appointed by the US Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera.
• She won a Bronze Medal at the 2015 IPPY Awards.
• She received four Pushcart Prize nominations in 2009.
• She has been a Fellow at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center for Great Plains Studies since 2008.
• She received the South Dakota Arts Council Collaborative Grant in 2008–2009.
• In 2005, she earned the King Chavez Parks Teaching Award from Northern Michigan University.
• She was honored with the South Dakota Arts Council Artist Fellowship in 2002.
• She received Excellence in Teaching Awards in 2002 and 2004.
• She has also been an Artist in Residence for the South Dakota Arts Council since 1998.
• In 1995, she won the Abiko Quarterly Editor's Choice Award.