Who is the Connecticut’s poet laureate?
Antoinette Brim-Bell from West Haven is Connecticut’s 8th State Poet Laureate. She’s a poet, printmaker, and author who has written three collections of poetry: These Women You Gave Me, Icarus in Love, and Psalm of the Sunflower.
Antoinette’s poems have been featured in journals and magazines and appeared in several anthologies including Villanelles, Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander, Critical Insights: Alice Walker, 44 on 44: Forty-four African American Writers on the 44th President of the United States, and the Whiskey of our Discontent: an anthology of essays commemorating Ms. Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the 2017 Central New York Book Award for nonfiction
She has been a Cave Canem Foundation fellow, received the Walker Foundation Scholarship to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, and been a Pushcart Prize nominee.
In addition to her literary accomplishments, Antoinette hosted a series of Black History Month television programs for the OneWorld Progressive Institute and is a former guest host of Patrick Oliver’s Literary Nation Talk Radio, where she interviewed entertainers, literary figures, political pundits, and community developers. She is a Professor of English at Capital Community College.
The Witness Stones Project galvanized her interest in collaboration. Her greatest aspirations are for connections and collaborations between poets across the state, for diverse populations to come together to share their poetic stories, and for poets, visual artists, musicians, and stage performers to engage in poetic expression.
During the review and selection process, panelists acknowledged the strength and diverse content and style of Antoinette’s poetry and her inclusive vision for the role of State Poet Laureate. The panel of reviewers included Michael Collier, Octavio Quintanilla, Kimolee Eryn, and Alison Meyers.
Contact
Learn more about Antoinette on her website.