Bianca Spriggs facts for kids

Bianca Lynne Spriggs (born 1981) is an American poet and artist. She creates many different kinds of art. Even though she was born in Milwaukee, WI, she grew up mostly in Kentucky. She moved there when she was eleven years old. Today, she lives in Athens, OH. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Ohio University.

Bianca is a "second-generation Affrilachian Poet." This means she is part of a group of poets from the Appalachian region who are also African American. She has written many books of poetry. Some of her famous works include Kaffir Lily (2010) and The Galaxy is a Dance Floor (2016). She has also helped edit other poetry books. These include Circe's Lament: An Anthology of Wild Women (2015).

What is Bianca Spriggs's Poetry About?

Bianca Spriggs's poems are often about imagination and fantasy. She gets ideas from old stories, myths, and science fiction. Her work often looks at how art connects to communities. She also explores the lives of Black women in the American South.

From 2006 to 2012, she led the Wild Women of Poetry Slam. This was an annual event at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. In 2013, something very unique happened. Her poem "The ________ of the Universe: A Love Story" was tattooed onto 248 people in Lexington. This was part of the Lexington Tattoo Project.

Also in 2013, she worked with videographer Angel Clark. They created an art show called The Thirteen. This exhibit honored 13 Black women who were killed in Kentucky. Her poem "To the woman I saw today who wept in her car" was very popular in 2019. It was on a list of social justice poems by Split This Rock.

Poetry as a Laboratory

Bianca Spriggs sees poetry like a science lab. She feels like a "mad scientist" trying to invent something new. Her love for poetry grew from her interest in visual art. She says writing felt like an "extension of my visual aesthetic."

She also believes poetry helps us understand our true selves. She writes poems for her readers. But she also says her poems help her in her own life. They are a way for her to express herself. She explores her dreams and subconscious thoughts through poetry. This helps her understand her conscious decisions.

Becoming a Full-Time Writer

For a long time, Bianca didn't think of writing as a career. It was only after writing for over ten years that she considered it. She was unhappy with her day job. With her husband's support, she decided to try writing full-time.

She applied for a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. When she received the money, she quit her job. This allowed her to focus completely on writing. Her inspiration comes from her love of storytelling. She says, "Sometimes writing is telling my own story through (other people)." Other times, it's telling their stories through her own.

Who Inspired Bianca?

Early in her career, Jude McPherson and Eric Sutherland helped her a lot. They encouraged her to read her poems in public. They also helped her create her first small poetry books.

Maya Angelou was another big inspiration. Bianca once heard her speak. She remembered Maya Angelou saying that poetry needs people to keep reading and writing it. Bianca felt like Angelou was speaking directly to her. She went home and wrote her first "official" poem, "Revival Room." This poem was about a family tradition.

Joining the Affrilachian Poets in 2004 made her very proud. She was a "second-generation" member. She said before joining, she had never seen a Black person read poetry in public. This experience helped pave the way for other African American poets.

Education

Bianca Spriggs studied at Transylvania University. She graduated in 2003 with a history degree. She also minored in studio art. In 2005, she earned her M.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Later, in 2017, she received her Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Kentucky.

Awards and Honors

Bianca Spriggs has received many awards for her work.

• In 2013, she received an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry.
• She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
• She has received five Artist Enrichment Grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. One of these was an Arts Meets Activism grant.
• TheRoot.com named her one of the Top 30 Black Performance Poets in the U.S.
• In 2016, she received the Sallie Bingham Award. This award is for feminist expression in the arts.
• She was also a Cave Canem Fellow in 2006, 2007, and 2010.

Works

• Kaffir Lily (2010)
• How Swallowtails Became Dragons (2011)
• Call Her By Her Name (2016)
• The Galaxy Is a Dance Floor (2016)

Co-editor

• Circe’s Lament: An Anthology of Wild Women (2016)
• Undead: Ghouls, Ghosts, and More (2017)
• Black Bone: 25 Years of the Affrilachian Poets (2018)