Graham Selected for Summer Poetry Residence
Natalie Graham has been selected to study under Tim Seibles in a prestigious 2026 summer residency.
Natalie Graham, professor of Africana studies, has been selected for a 2026 Poetry Residency by the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA).
“I’m thrilled to connect with other writers and have dedicated feedback from a phenomenal writer and literary citizen,” Graham said. “I’m deeply honored to be able to participate in this residency and appreciate VONA’s longstanding commitment to craft and community.”
Graham, who also serves as interim department head for Africana studies, has been at UT since August 2024. She has been selected for the “Odes, Rages, Aubades & Elegies: Lighting the Heart’s Lamp” residency with Tim Seibles, where she will write and revise poems in topics of celebration, grief, memorialization, and joy. The course is led by Tim Seibles, a renowned, award-winning author of seven collections of poetry and numerous poems in literary journal articles and anthologies.
VONA, established in 1999, is an organization rooted in social justice and created to support writers of color. The faculty and board of VONA is made of internationally renowned writers and poets of color, aiming to get voices of color heard, create community engagement, and expand writing opportunities. In this residency, Graham will get to work under distinguished VONA faculty through mentorship, editing, and writing programs.
Graham previously served as Orange County, California’s Poet Laureate from 2021-2023. She has also toured nationally with her most recent collection of poems, Begin with a Failed Body.
by Sloan Docekal