Aracelis Girmay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aracelis Girmay
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| Native name |
ወይኒ ግርማይ
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| Born | December 10, 1977 |
| Occupation | Professor |
| Education | Connecticut College (BA) New York University (MFA) |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable awards | Cave Canem Fellow |
Aracelis Girmay, born on December 10, 1977, is a talented writer. She is known as a poet, teacher, and editor. Aracelis also creates art using collage and writes essays. She has even worked with film and sound artists. Her well-known poetry books include the black maria (published in 2016), Kingdom Animalia (from 2011), and Teeth (from 2007). Because of her amazing work, she was a finalist for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Today, she teaches creative writing at Stanford University.
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About Aracelis Girmay
Aracelis Girmay was born in Santa Ana, California. Her mother came from Chicago and has Puerto Rican, African American, and Mexican family roots. Her father was born in Gondar, Eritrea, and is from the Tigrinya people.
Her Education
Aracelis studied at Connecticut College. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree there. She focused on Documentary Studies and also studied Hispanic cultures. Later, she went to New York University (NYU). At NYU, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry. She learned from many famous poets like Elizabeth Alexander and Derek Walcott. She also took a special course about African history and culture.
Her Work as a Writer and Teacher
For many years, Aracelis Girmay taught writing workshops. She worked with young people in schools and community centers. She helped students at places like DreamYard and the Community~Word Project. She was also a visiting writer at Queens College in New York. Later, she joined the faculty at Hampshire College.
Teaching and Mentoring
Aracelis has taught in many different writing programs. These include Drew University and Columbia University. She also taught at Sarah Lawrence. She was a writer-in-residence at Pratt Institute. Since 2023, she has been teaching at Stanford University.
Her Published Books
Aracelis Girmay's first book of poems was Teeth, published in 2007. This book won the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award.
In 2011, she released Kingdom Animalia. This book won the Isabella Gardner Award. It was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry.
Her third poetry collection, the black maria, came out in 2016. Publishers Weekly called it a "moving collection." They said her poems were "lyrical" and "image-thick." The Boston Globe named it one of the best books of 2016. This book helped her become a finalist for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In 2018, she received the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award.
Awards and Fellowships
Aracelis Girmay has received many honors. She won the Whiting Award and the Metcalf Award. She has also received special grants, called fellowships. These came from groups like the Cave Canem Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2017, she received the June Jordan Fellowship from Columbia University.
Her Work as an Editor
Aracelis is also an important editor. She is on the board of the African Poetry Book Fund. From 2021 to 2025, she was an editor for BOA Editions' Blessing the Boats Selections. She edited How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton. .....
Picture Books
Aracelis Girmay has written and illustrated picture books too. She wrote and made collages for Changing, Changing. She wrote What Do You Know? with her sister, Ariana Fields. She also worked with illustrator Diana Ejaita on the picture book Kamau and ZuZu Find a Way.
List of Awards
- 2009: Great Lakes College Association New Writers Award
- 2011: Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for Kingdom Animalia
- 2011: Finalist, Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Kingdom Animalia
- 2015: Whiting Award for poetry
- 2016: Bess Hokin Prize from Prairie Schooner
- 2018: Finalist, Neustadt International Prize for Literature
- 2018: Lucille Clifton Legacy Award
- 2019: Metcalf Award for poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Books by Aracelis Girmay
- Teeth, Curbstone Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781931896368,
- Changing, Changing, George Braziller, 2005. ISBN: 9780807615539,
- Kingdom Animalia, Boa Editions, 2011. ISBN: 9781934414620,
- the black maria, BOA Editions Ltd. 2016. ISBN: 9781942683025,
- What Do You Know? with Ariana Fields, Enchanted Lion 2021.
- and was a flower (chapbook with Valentina Améstica), Center for Book Arts 2023.
- Kamau and ZuZu Find a Way with Diana Ejaita, Enchanted Lion 2024.
