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About Claudia

Hi, my name is Claudia Wilson. I'm a poet and writer: ( They & She). Here's my formal bio: I'm from Cleveland & Columbus, Ohio. I studied English and Black Studies in college. I'm a social worker and I received my MFA from UMass Amherst. I'm proud of the venue/spaces where I really grew as a poet namely Columbus, and Boston ( Writer's Block, Cantab, and House Slam). These spaces have greatly contributed to my creativity and community. I'm a VONA fellow and TWH ( The Writer's Hotel) graduate, and soon to be apart of the Juniper Institute. My chapbook is called GROWN 2019 from Game Over Books Press. My forthcoming book is called Searching for Afrekete. I've been published in Winter Tangerine and Mass Poetry. I'm a recent Mass Cultural Council Recipient, Academy of American Poets finalist , and Sara Patton awardee. Due to my previous work I think about trauma-informed practices and I am happy to offer sessions on this, too. I am interested in the conversations and spaces that poetry offers me. My ambition for myself is for poetry to live as theory and praxis. June Jordan, Sonia Sanchez, Audre Lorde, and Toni Morrison are the writers I return to. I find that my poetics center around conversations of past black or QTPOC writers to deepen my relation to the present and how I observe the world. I'm not a fan of the essentialism of genre. I think we're all writing towards something and that genre conventions can be useful, but should not always be required. I am queer, black and Trans. I am also still learning.