RECENT MEDIA
RECENT MENTIONS and reviews
Electric Literature, 15 New and Forthcoming POetry Collections YOu should be reading
Antigua’s sophomore collection is a raw, innovative exploration of the body after trauma. Through lyrical free verse, “Sad Girl Sonnets,” and her invented collage form of the “Diary Entry Poem,” Antigua investigates religious trauma, chronic pain, and mental illness. The result is a poetry collection of considerable courage and vulnerability.
POets & Writers Magazine, Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
“This isn’t an apology but rather a confession: / I loved your body before I was born.” Good Monster (Copper Canyon Press, May 2024) by Diannely Antigua. Second book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editors: Michael Wiegers and Ash Wynter. Publicist: Ryo Yamaguchi. Listen to Diannely Antigua read from her book here.
The Academy of American Poets Awards $1.1 Million to 23 Poets Laureate Across the United States
Diannely Antigua, Poet Laureate Fellow, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Diannely Antigua will develop The Bread & Poetry Project, which will honor The Hoot Poetry Reading series and the Esther Buffler Poet-in-Residence program, two legacy projects created by former Portsmouth poets laureate. She will also continue her Bread & Poetrypodcast and partner with local organizations NH PANTHER and HAVEN to lead writing workshops, putting into practice poetry’s power to enact social change.
Pleiades Mag, Visual Review: Gabrielle Bates on Diannely Antigua’s Ugly Music
“The coming-of-age narrative that unfolds in Ugly Music is dark, certainly, haunted by childhood sexual abuse, depression, and the gendered power dynamics of a Pentecostal upbringing, but in navigating this darkness, Antigua evokes a richness of texture, sound, and color.”
The Whiting Foundation, 2020 Award Winner
“For Diannely Antigua, the body is a site of trauma and awe; it is at once magical and damaged. Antigua's poems layer lyricism, religious language, and the tactile materials of daily life to build altars of affection for the people and things of her world.”
MUZZle magazine, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: Diannely antigua’s Ugly Music
“Diannely Antigua’s Ugly Music is a book for our times—sardonic, self-effacing, sincere. The speaker is a bad feminist in the ways that we are all bad feminists—negotiating our desire for equality with the many ways we are imperfect.”
Recent PRESS
Black Lives Matter NH Announces 2024 BLM New Hampshire Excellence Awards Ceremony: In Depth NH, April 17, 2024
At the 2024 BLM New Hampshire Excellence Awards, we will honor seven remarkable individuals…Diannely Antigua is our Excellence in Artistry Award winner!
Diannely Antigua, Portsmouth poet laureate, awarded $50K by Academy of American Poets: Seacoastonline, July 25, 2023
Antigua, a Dominican American poet and educator, according to the organization, will use the funding to develop “The Bread & Poetry Project.” The program will pay homage to two former Portsmouth poet laureate’s legacy projects, The Hoot Poetry Reading series and the Esther Buffler Poet-in-Residence program.
Poetry academy announces more than $1 million in grants for U.S. laureates: AP News, July 25, 2023
On Tuesday, the academy announced its 2023 Fellowships, contributions of $50,000 each to 23 state and local poets laureate around the country…Fellows include Utah laureate Lisa Bickmore and Lauren Camp of New Mexico, along with such local laureates as Diannely Antigua of Portsmouth, New Hampshire…
Courage Speaks: An evening of inspiration, empowerment, and survivors in support of Haven: Seacoastonline, April 27, 2023
Safe Haven Ballet, Emily Chandra and her dancers, Portsmouth Poet Laureate, Diannely Antigua, and Assistant Mayor of Portsmouth Joanna Kelley took to the stage to fill the room with hope by captivating guests with their words, music, and movement.
Diannely Antigua Named 13th Portsmouth POet Laureate, vows to ‘uplift marginalized voices’: SeacoastOnline, May 3, 2022
“Diannely Antigua is the 13th poet laureate of Portsmouth. She is the youngest and the first person of color chosen to be the city's poet laureate, according to the program's leader.”
Whiting Awards Bestow $50K Prizes to 10 Emerging Writers: New York Times, March 26, 2020
winners announced Wednesday were…poets Aria Aber, Diannely Antigua…