Safiya Sinclair
Safiya Sinclair (born 1984, Montego Bay, Jamaica)[1] is a Jamaican poet and memoirist. Her debut poetry collection, Cannibal won several awards, including a Whiting Award for poetry in 2016 and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for poetry in 2017. She is currently an associate professor of creative writing at Arizona State University.[2]
Early life and education
Sinclair was born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She has described her father, a reggae musician, as a "militant Rasta man." It is because of what Sinclair refers to as the "alienating" experience of Rastafari culture that she turned to poetry.[3] At 16, her first poem was published in a national newspaper in Jamaica.[4]
Sinclair moved to the United States in 2006 to attend college, first earning her BA from Bennington College in Vermont. She went on to obtain an MFA in poetry from the University of Virginia, where she studied with Rita Dove[5], and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California.[6]
Career
Sinclair has published poems in xxx. She wrote Catacombs, a chapbook of poems, essays, and memoir during a one-year return to Jamaica following her MFA. It was released by Argos Books in 2011. In September 2016, she released her debut collection of poems, Cannibal, through University of Nebraska Press. [about cannibal]
Her debut memoir, How to Say Babylon, will be published in October 2023.
Bibliography
- Catacombs, Argos Books (2011)
- Cannibal, University of Nebraska Press (2016)
- How to Say Babylon: a Memoir, Simon & Schuster (2023)
Awards and nominations
- 2015 — Prairie Schooner Book Prize, Poetry[7]
- 2016 — Whiting Award, Poetry[8]
- 2017 — American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Metcalf Award, Literature[9]
- 2017 — OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, Poetry[10]
- 2017 — Phillis Wheatley Book Award, Poetry[11]
Nominations
- 2017 — PEN Open Book Award, longlisted[12]
- 2017 — PEN USA Literary Award, finalist[13]
- 2017 — Dylan Thomas Prize, longlisted[14]
References
- ^ "Safiya Sinclair". www.poetryinternational.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize winner Mitchell S. Jackson and Whiting Award winner Safiya Sinclair join ASU's Department of English". ASU News. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Safiya Sinclair | 'There wasn’t much space for me as a woman to grow and thrive'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ Linan, Steve (2016-04-06). "Graduate student receives affirmation of her talent — a prestigious award for poetry". USC News. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ Cole, Jess (2023-04-20). "Two Poets Who Debated Every Syllable". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ "Safiya Sinclair — ABOUT". Safiya Sinclair. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ^ "Cannibal". Prairie Schooner. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Safiya Sinclair". www.whiting.org. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Awards – American Academy of Arts and Letters". artsandletters.org. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature • Bocas Lit Fest". Bocas Lit Fest. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Tubb, Nathaniel (17 January 2017). "2017 PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD". PEN America. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "2017 LITERARY AWARDS FINALISTS | PEN Center USA". web.archive.org. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "2017 Longlist - Swansea University". Swansea University. Retrieved 14 June 2023.