Pratt Poets
This National Poetry Month, we have an opportunity to celebrate the work and achievements of Pratt alumni! From publications of dynamic poetry collections to bold activism and the founding of diverse presses and organizations, the contributions of these poets reach far outside of the classroom.
Mahogany Browne
Mahogany L. Browne is a poet, writer, organizer and educator from California. Browne graduated from Pratt Institute with an MFA in writing and activism, and served as both a visiting professor and the Black Lives Matter program coordinator at Pratt in 2019. Currently, Browne serves as the Executive Director of Bower Poetry Club, the Artistic Director of Urban Word NYC and as Poetry Coordinator at St. Francis College. Additionally, she is also the founder of Penmanship Books and the Woke Baby Book Fair. She is the author of Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby & Black Girl Magic, Kissing Caskets and Dear Twitter. Browne lives in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more here!
- Poet Mahogany L. Browne on 'Black Girl Magic'
Mahogany L. Browne is a poet and author coordinating the Women of the World Poetry Slam at New York’s Pratt Institute. She gives her spectacular take on “Black Girl Magic” and the struggles facing African-American women in modern society.
Olivia Gatwood
Olivia Gatwood is a poet, writer, activist and educator from New Mexico. Topics she writes about include adolescence, gender, sexual violence and coming of age, and has previously been recognized for her work as a Title IX Compliant educator in sexual assault prevention and recovery. Gatwood graduated from Pratt's fiction program in 2015 and is the author of Life of the Party and New American Best Friend. Gatwood's background in slam poetry and her performances have often gone viral on YouTube. She is a full-time touring artist and has performed around the world. Gatwood lives in Santa Cruz, California. Learn more here!
New American Best Friend by ISBN: 9781943735105Publication Date: 2017-03-28
- Olivia Gatwood performs poems from Life of the Party
Olivia Gatwood reads from her poetry collection, Life of the Party. Recorded live at The Bell House in Brooklyn.
Sonia Farmer
Sonia Farmer is a Bahamian poet, writer, visual artist and small press publisher. Farmer excels in her crafts of letterpress printing, bookbinding, hand-papermaking and digital projects, and is interested in writing about the Caribbean space. Farmer graduated from Pratt with a BFA in Writing, where she won the thesis word for an outstanding collection of poetry. She also holds an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Iowa Center for the Book. Farmer is the founder of Poinciana Paper Press which focuses on uplifting Caribbean voices, and is the author of Infidelities, The Best Estimation in the World and several chapbooks. Learn more here!
- Infidelities
Poems published in Small Axe by Duke University Press to celebrate Sonia Farmer as a 2011 Literary Competition Winner in Poetry. - We Suffer To Remain Artist Profile: Sonia Farmer
National Art Gallery of the Bahamas' artist profile on Sonia Farmer. Here, Sonia speaks about her response to Richard Ligon's A True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados and her re-reading of that text using erasure poetry.
Farmer's first full-length poetry collection, Infidelities, longlisted for the 2018 OCM Boacas Prize for Caribbean Literature, is not available through Pratt Institute. Check it out here or make a request through Interlibrary Loan!
Brandi Spering
Brandi Spering is a poet, writer and painter that enjoys infusing non-fiction writing with the genre of poetry. Spering received her BFA in Writing from Pratt Institute in 2016 and has been published in super/natural: art and fiction for the future, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Recenter Press Poetry Journal, Artblog, and Stardust Magazine. Her first book, This I Can Tell You, was released on March 21st, 2021. Spering is from South Philadelphia, where she currently resides. Learn more here!
- This I Can Tell You
Purchase Brandi Spering's This I Can Tell You here. Told through poetic prose, This I Can Tell You walks in through the front door and looks under the sofa. It measures the length of the wall, taps to find the beams. It removes the hammer and the nails from the toolbox, places them in a line to find the difference. This is a poetic narrative that examines structures within a home. It navigates Spering’s muffled timeline due to the fragility of memory as a result of trauma and the secrecy maintained within a family, like a well-groomed dog. - An Interview with Brandi Spering
In an interview with Jenna Geisinger for for ISchuykill Valley Journal Online, Brandi Spering discusses her poetic narrative, This I Can Tell You, her writing process and ghosts.