Donika Kelly wins award for “Bestiary”

Donika Kelly, assistant professor of English, discovered she won the Kate Tufts Discovery Award on Feb. 17, after the notices she received about the status of her her submission went to the spam folder of her email.
She had seen information about the finalist announcements on Twitter and Kelly received a direct message on Twitter from poet Genevieve Kaplan, telling her to check her spam for additional information about the award. Her editor at Graywolf Press also emailed her to let her know about progressing as a finalist.
“I was pleased to be nominated with that group [of finalists],” she said.
Each submission had to be a full-length collection of poetry published between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. The $10,000 award is known for being one of the most prestigious in contemporary poetry, acknowledging a beginning poet who the organization considers one of promise.
The five finalists had been told to hold a two-hour slot from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at a later date to find out if they won.
That night, it was 10 p.m. and Kelly hadn’t heard anything.
“I was watching ‘The Dark Knight’ and they called me and said, ‘congratulations,’ and it was a little bit surreal,” she said. “You don’t really expect it because no one expects to win.”
According to Kelly, she feels that the prize is meant to help provide material support, in addition to the social and cultural support that comes with it.
“It feels meaningful, the recognition that comes with winning the award,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of different kinds of awards and no way to know if one’s being considered. There’s no guarantee your work is going to be read.”
She believes writing for the awards can’t be the motivating force behind work because poets’ work should be central and whatever happens with an author’s book or poems when it’s in the world isn’t up to the writer anymore.
“Poets and writers, in particular, can’t do it for the awards,” she said. “I don’t think most of us do, or anybody does. None of that is guaranteed. The thing motivating me is ‘How can I do the best work that I can, in a way that feels meaningful, fun and real?’”
The reception took place April 19 in Haaga Hall of The Huntington Library in San Marino, California, honoring Kelly and Patricia Smith, the recipient of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for $100,000.
“I [read] with Patricia Smith and she’s so phenomenal and has done so much as a poet and as a mentor,” Kelly said. “Getting to be in the same space with her also feels like a privilege.”
Kelly also felt the recognition she received has had an impact on a larger scale.
“I’m writing about being a black, queer woman who’s experienced quite a bit of trauma,” she explained. “Having that work being recognized so positively is affirming.”
For future publications, she said she isn’t putting any pressure on herself to meet external deadlines.
“My plan is to let it unfold as it unfolds and we’ll see what happens,” Kelly said.