Wikipedia

Shayla Lawson

Shayla Lawson is an American poet and writer, currently the writer in residence at Amherst College.

Shayla Lawson
BornKentucky, U.S.
OccupationWriter in Residence, Amherst College
GenrePoetry, Essay
Notable works I Think I'm Ready to See Frank Ocean
Notable awardsHonorable Mention, 2017 Cave Canem Poetry Prize

Biography

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Lawson grew up in Kentucky and entered the slam poetry scene there[1] before majoring in Architecture at the University of Kentucky, where they[a] gave the 2005 Breathitt Lecture, "My Ancestor Antenna: Hair and Its Relation to African-American Identity Across the Diaspora."[3] After graduating, Lawson worked as an architect for some time before pursuing their MFA at Indiana University, where they worked as the nonfiction editor of the Indiana Review and for the Graduate Mentoring Center.[4][5] Lawson published their debut collection, A Speed Education in Human Being, in 2013,[6] the chapbook Pantone, of which each poem was printed on its own card, in 2016,[7] and the book I Think I'm Ready to See Frank Ocean in 2018.[8] They received the 2017 Oregon Literary Fellowship[9] and Honorable Mention in the 2017 Cave Canem Poetry Prize.[10] Lawson succeeded Daniel Hall as the poet in residence at Amherst College beginning in the 2018-19 academic year.[11]

In 2021, Shayla Lawson appeared on Storybound (podcast) reading two excerpts from their book This Is Major, with music by MAITA.[12]

Awards and honors

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Publications

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  • A Speed Education in Human Being, Sawyer House, 2013.
  • Pantone, Miel, 2016.
  • I Think I'm Ready to See Frank Ocean, Saturnalia Books, 2018.
  • This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope, Harper Perennial, 2020.
  • How to live free in a dangerous world: a decolonial memoir, Tiny Reparation Books, 2024

Notes

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  1. ^ Lawson uses they/them pronouns.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Poets at Pickathon? We're In". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
  2. ^ "Biography". Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  3. ^ "Past Breathitt Lectures | The Gaines Center". www.uky.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  4. ^ "Summer 2015 Volume 37, Number 1". Indiana Review. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  5. ^ "Staff: Who We Are: Welcome: The Graduate Mentoring Center: Indiana University Bloomington". The Graduate Mentoring Center. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  6. ^ Lawson, Shayla (2013-09-01). A Speed Education in Human Being. Sawyer House. ISBN 9780982156032.
  7. ^ Darling, Kristina Marie (2016-12-30). "The Significance of Color: On Shayla Lawson's Pantone". Tupelo Quarterly. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  8. ^ "Fiction Book Review: I Think I'm Ready To See Frank Ocean by Shayla Lawson. Saturnalia, $16 trade paper (120p) ISBN 978-0-9899797-8-8". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  9. ^ "Oregon Literary Fellowship Recipient: Shayla Lawson". Literary Arts. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  10. ^ "Cave Canem » Blog Archive Cave Canem Poetry Prize Reading: Julian Randall". Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  11. ^ "Creative Writing Center | Faculty & Staff | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  12. ^ "Shayla Lawson Performs Her Essay "Black Lives Matter, Yard Signs Matter"". Literary Hub. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  13. ^ "Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 NBCC Awards". National Book Critics Circle. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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