dg nanouk okpik facts for kids

dg nanouk okpik
At UC Berkeley's Lunch Poems in 2023
Born	Anchorage, Alaska
Education	Salish Kootenai College (AFA) Institute of American Indian Arts (BFA) University of Southern Maine (MFA)
Occupation	Poet

dg nanouk okpik is a talented Inuit poet. She is from the Iñupiaq people. She won the American Book Award for her first poetry book, Corpse Whale, which came out in 2012. In 2023, she received a Windham Campbell Literature Prize for her poetry. She was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

About dg nanouk okpik

dg nanouk okpik was born in Anchorage. She was raised by adoptive parents. She faced challenges common to many Indigenous people. These included moving to new cities and sometimes losing touch with their traditions.

She studied at the University of Southern Maine. There she earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. She also received the Truman Capote Literary Trust Scholarship. She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Her Work as a Poet

dg nanouk okpik works as a resident advisor. She helps students at the Santa Fe Indian School.

Her first poetry book, Corpse Whale, was published in 2012. It won the American Book Award. Critics praised her writing. Jasmine Johnston called Corpse Whale "surreal and mythic." She liked okpik's vivid images. She also noted how okpik switched between Inuit and English words. Diego Báez said it was a "captivating debut." He also praised her use of Inuit words.

okpik's poems have been included in many collections. One book is The Poem Is You. It features 60 modern American poems. Another collection is Sing: Poetry from the Indigenous Americas. Her work also appears in Effigies: An Anthology of New Indigenous Writing.

In 2023, she received a Windham Campbell Prize for her poetry. This is a very important award.

Awards and Recognition

dg nanouk okpik has won several important awards for her poetry.

Where She Lives

She grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. Today, dg nanouk okpik lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Her Published Books

Here are some of the books and collections that feature dg nanouk okpik's work:

Poetry Collections

• 2012: Corpse Whale (University of Arizona Press), ISBN: 978-0816526741
• 2022: Blood Snow (Wave Books), ISBN: 978-1950268634

Poems in Other Books

• 2018: New Poets of Native Nations (Graywolf Press), edited by Heid E. Erdrich, ISBN: 978-1555979997
• 2011: Sing: Poetry from the Indigenous Americas (University of Arizona Press), ISBN: 978-0816528912
• 2009: Effigies: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from the Pacific Rim (Salt Publishing), ISBN: 978-1844714070

Selected Poems

Here are some of her individual poems:

• 2009: "For-The-Spirits-Who-Have-Rounded-The-Bend IIVAQSAAT"
• 2012: "Cell Block on Chena River"
• 2012: "Warming"
• 2012: "If Oil is Drilled in Bristol Bay"
• 2012: "The Pact with Samna"
• 2012: "Little Brother and the Serpent Samna"
• 2018: "A Year Dot"
• 2018: "Necklaced Whalebone"
• 2018: "Found"
• 2020: "When White Hawks Come"