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 an Inuk poet, which means she is a writer from the Indigenous people of the Arctic. She is specifically from the Iñupiaq group. She won the important American Book Award for her first book of poems, called Corpse Whale, which came out in 2012. In 2023, she received a special honor called the Windham Campbell Literature Prize for her poetry. She was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, which is a very high award for writers.

About dg nanouk okpik

Early Life and Learning

dg nanouk okpik was born in Anchorage, Alaska. She was raised by adoptive parents. Like many Indigenous women, she faced challenges such as moving to cities, poverty, and not always being connected to her culture.

She studied at the University of Southern Maine. There, she earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. This is a special degree for people who want to become professional artists or writers. She also received a scholarship from the Truman Capote Literary Trust. She is also a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Her Work as a Poet

Today, okpik works as a resident advisor at the Santa Fe Indian School. This means she helps students who live at the school.

Her first book of poems, Corpse Whale, was published in 2012. It won the American Book Award. Critics really liked her book. One reviewer, Jasmine Johnston, said Corpse Whale was "both surreal and mythic." This means it felt dream-like and connected to old stories. She also praised okpik's amazing pictures made with words. Another reviewer, Diego Báez, called it a "captivating debut." He also liked how okpik used both Inuit words and English words in her poems. This is called code-switching.

okpik's poems have been included in many different collections of poetry. For example, her work is in The Poem Is You: 60 Contemporary American Poems and How to Read Them. This book was put together by a famous critic and poet named Stephanie Burt. Her poetry also appeared in Sing: Poetry from the Indigenous Americas and Effigies: An Anthology of New Indigenous Writing. Both of these collections were put together by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke.

In 2023, dg nanouk okpik was given the Windham Campbell Prize for her poetry. This is a very important award that celebrates great writers.

Awards and Honors

dg nanouk okpik has received several important awards for her writing:

• 2012: She won the American Book Award for her book Corpse Whale.
• 2014: She received the Truman Capote Literary Trust Scholarship.
• 2023: She won the May Sarton Award.
• 2023: Her book Blood Snow was a finalist for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.

Where She Lives

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

Her Published Books

Poetry Collections

• 2012: Corpse Whale (published by University of Arizona Press)
• 2022: Blood Snow (published by Wave Books)

Books with Her Poems

• 2018: New Poets of Native Nations (edited by Heid E. Erdrich)
• 2011: Sing: Poetry from the Indigenous Americas
• 2009: Effigies: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from the Pacific Rim

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"