2024 Manley Award Results
Winner
Shakeema Smalls
Shakeema Smalls (she/her) is from Georgetown, South Carolina. Her work has been published in a variety of outlets including Honey Literary, Hayden’s Ferry, Emergent Literary, Tidal Basin Review, Root Work Journal, Radius Lit, Free Black Space, Vinyl Poetry and Prose, Rigorous, and A Gathering of the Tribes Magazine, among others. She is a Tin House Workshop and VONA alum and was selected as a PEN America 2022 Emerging Voices Fellow. She has upcoming work in The Ocean State Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Fruit Journal, and Foglifter.
Shakeema will serve as the 2024 Poet-in-Residence at The Poetry Lab.
FINALISTS
SG Huerta
Jennifer Price
Jasmine Barnes
Mary Zhou
Noelani Piters
Topher Allen
Winner Announcement
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Long Beach, California. April 5, 2024 - The Poetry Lab, an online learning space dedicated to mentoring poets and writers as they craft their learning journeys, is thrilled to announce Shakeema Smalls as the winner of the inaugural Markus D. Manley Award. This prestigious award, named in honor of one of The Poetry Lab's Co-Founders, celebrates and supports BIPOC poets on their creative pursuits.
Shakeema Smalls, a talented poet whose work explores themes of identity, culture, and familial connections, was selected from a pool of exceptional applicants. Raised by her grandmother, Shakeema found solace and inspiration in her family's stories, particularly during times of hardship when her parents and other relatives were incarcerated. She recalls how writing letters to her incarcerated loved ones from the tender age of five became a lifeline, fostering a deep connection and fueling her passion for the written word.
"As a Black child in a Black family navigating a hostile societal landscape, I found refuge in reading, listening, and storytelling," Shakeema shares. "The rich traditions of the Black church and the rhythmic cadences of Gullah Geechee culture infused my upbringing and shaped me into the poet I am today."
As the recipient of the Markus D. Manley Award, Shakeema will receive a $1,000 stipend to support her artistic endeavors. Over the course of six months, she will have access to free poetry courses, personalized mentorship from accomplished poets and educators, and a wealth of resources provided by The Poetry Lab.
Shakeema's proposed goals for her residency include completing her second manuscript, titled MACHINE, and engaging in critical analyses of poetry collections by authors such as Taylor Johnson, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Lucille Clifton. She also plans to conduct craft interviews with BIPOC poets and explore the intersections of prose poetry and lyrical drama in her own work.
"We are thrilled to award Shakeema Smalls with the Markus D. Manley Award," said Danielle Mitchell, Executive Director and surviving Co-Founder of The Poetry Lab. "Her innovative approach to the project proposal was very inspiring. We look forward to supporting Shakeema on her creative journey and witnessing the impact of her work in our poetry community."
Markus D. Manley (1974 - 2014), was a beloved entrepreneur, innovator, and cultural advocate in Long Beach, California. His passion for the arts and his dedication to fostering collaboration within the community left an indelible mark on all who knew him. Markus's impact extended beyond the realm of poetry; he also played a pivotal role in the establishment of an art gallery, a tour management company, and various other creative ventures. His commitment to community building continues to inspire us to this day.
The Markus D. Manley Award is made possible by the generous support of the Hawthornden Foundation. The Poetry Lab is a fiscally sponsored project of The Arts Area, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. Applications for the award were open to BIPOC poets who demonstrate a commitment to their craft and a desire to contribute to the literary community. The judges for the 2024 award were members of The Poetry Lab’s team including: Danielle Mitchell, Kelsey Bryan-Zwick, Anne Marie Wells, Talicha Johnson, and Joanna Velez.
An interview series with contemporary poets on craft, inspiration, and the radical imagination.
Series Introduction
“First you have to gain narrative skill! If you got no craft, you got no game…” - Baba Arthur RickyDoc Flowers.
My name is Shakeema Smalls, and I’m the 2024 Markus D. Manley fellow and Poet-in-Residence at The Poetry Lab. During my residency, I conducted a series of craft interviews with poets whose work makes me curious and inspired as a reader and writer.
When I started this fellowship, I considered subjects that might be beneficial to emerging poets. As a former caregiver, I thought about how even access to workshops was severely limited for me prior to the onset of the pandemic in 2020. At this time, many workshops had to adapt to the virtual environment, which meant that I was able to finally gather with poetry community in a focused and consistent way. This helped enliven my writing and challenged me to think expansively about what is possible with poetry.
I now think about how I came to learn what I have about poetic craft. I’m familiar with the workshop model as I’ve spent the last few years as a member of the Office Hours workshop, founded by the poet and professor Sarah M. Sala. I think about my own growth, not only in terms of my craft and writing stamina, but also of my development as a part of poetic community.
I’m a relational thinker. Each writer whose work and life I am introduced to teaches me something different about the human experience. In some ways, I might find myself stunned by a writer’s thoughts on process. In others, by their skill with craft. There are even writers whom I adore for how dedicated they are to being a champion, not only for others, but also of their own work in the age of social media.
This series of interviews was conceived by a reader and writer, about readers and writers. It all began with my love for the written word. It started from my pride and supplications to the written word as a reader. This series was also conceived as a way to champion other poets, like myself. I hope these interviews will also be accessible and interesting to people who may not be poets, but who are interested in reading and/or writing poetry.
The five poets that I interviewed this summer were Sarah Kersey, Evelyn Berry, April Gibson, Brittany Rogers, and E. Hughes (forthcoming). I asked questions that I had at a time when I had far less access to writing workshops and residencies, and that other poets like myself might find helpful. I asked questions that I have had as a poet who is working-class, Black, queer, politically anarchist, and woman. I spoke to these poets deeply about their respective narratives, and how their own personal experiences and transformations have influenced their writing style, goals, and processes.
As my fellowship draws to a close, I want to thank The Poetry Lab for their generous support, patience, guidance, and access to a wealth of resources that have helped me to develop my own craft and progress my ‘manuscript-in-progress’. Please continue to support their amazing craft resources and like, follow, and interact with them on social media (@the_poetry_lab on Twitter and @thepoetrylab on Instagram) for even more resources to support your writing goals for the new year.
Happy reading—
Shakeema
About the Award
The Poetry Lab is a nurturing online space for innovative poet-scholars worldwide. In memory of our cofounder, we are excited to announce the Markus D. Manley Award. This award builds on our commitment to supporting BIPOC poets through a blend of financial aid, educational resources, and mentorship opportunities.
Recipients of the Markus D. Manley Award will receive a $1,000 stipend to support their personal and professional needs, allowing them to focus on their craft with less financial worry. In addition, the award includes six months of free access to our courses and direct mentorship from our team of accomplished poets and educators. This mentorship aims to enrich the recipient's poetic skills and understanding, offering personalized guidance and support.
The award provides entry to the BrainTrust, our monthly workshop where poets can explore new ideas and techniques under the guidance of our teaching artist fellows. Participants will also have the opportunity to join the Feedback Circle, an 8-week workshop focused on giving and receiving craft-focused critique, inspired by The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez. Furthermore, awardees can choose from a variety of 4-week courses on topics like surrealism in poetry, designed to deepen their knowledge and expand their creative expression.
In addition to these educational benefits, the Markus D. Manley Award winner is invited to contribute to our Resource Center, which includes a wealth of poetry articles, weekly podcasts for inspiration, and our social media feeds for community engagement and fun.
Funding
For more than a decade, The Poetry Lab has been committed to leveling the playing field for poets, making a high-quality literary education accessible and reasonable for the rest of us. Our work has always been in furtherance of Markus’s vision to create supportive environments for creatives to write, read, and collaborate together.
Thanks to the generous support of the Hawthornden Foundation, we can offer the Markus D. Manley Award. For more about the Hawthornden Foundation, visit them here.
Markus D. Manley Award
Toward a Sustainable Culture of Innovators
Learn more about Markus and his impact on our origin story and mission on The Poetry Lab Podcast Episode #2: Be The Poet You Want to See in the World.
Listen here:
Available everywhere you get your podcasts.