Winner of the 2011 Isabella Gardner Award, awarded biennially to a poet in midcareer with a new book of exceptional merit, Aracelis Girmay is the author of Kingdom Animalia, forthcoming from BOA Editions, Ltd. in Fall 2011. She was born and raised in Southern California, with roots in Puerto Rico, Eritria, and African America. She is also the author of the collage-based picture book changing, changing, and the poetry collection Teeth, for which she was awarded a GCLA New Writers Award. Girmay has taught youth writing workshops in schools and community centers for the past ten years. She is assistant professor of poetry writing at Hampshire College, and also teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Drew University in New Jersey. Girmay is a Cave Canem Fellow and an Acentos board member.
