Day Eight is pleased to report our participation in a project revealed today by the Academy of American Poets. Holly Karapetkova, Arlington County, Virginia’s Poet Laureate, is one of 22 Poets Laureate Fellows announced today by the Academy. Her funded project will allow Karapetkova to work with Arlington Youth Laureate Charlotte Maleski and the county’s Youth Poetry Ambassadors on a youth poetry anthology to be published by Day Eight in 2023. Focused on the theme of “resilience,” the anthology will be open to all high school students attending Arlington County Public Schools.
Holly Karapetkova is the author of two books of poetry, Words We Might One Day Say, winner of the 2010 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Poetry Award, and Towline, winner of the 2016 Vern Rutsala Poetry Contest from Cloudbank Books. Her current manuscript projects, Still Life With White and Planter’s Wife grapple with the deep wounds left by our history of racism, slavery, and environmental destruction. She is also the author of over 20 books for children. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in English and Comparative Literature and teaches in the Department of Literature and Languages at Marymount University. Karapatekova is pictured top right in the image above.
For more information about the fellowship award, visit the Academy of American Poets’ website, and click here to view the submission opportunity for the anthology on our Submittable website.
Recent books from Day Eight include the AfroLatinX anthology Diaspora Café: DC, and the Bourgeon poetry anthology, The Great World of Days. Day Eight was contracted by the DC Arts Commission’s Words on Fire youth poetry festival in 2022 to assist in production of the connected Words on Fire DC youth poetry anthology, edited by Alorie Clark.