American author and poet (born 1995)
KB Brookins (born August 28, 1995) is a Black American author , poet , creative nonfiction writer, and visual artist . Brookins is a 2023 Creative Writing fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts [ 1] and the author of three books: How To Identify Yourself with a Wound ,[ 2] Freedom House ,[ 3] and Pretty: A Memoir [ 4] [ 5] .
Early life and education
Brookins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.[ 6] They first became interested in poetry in 7th grade after a teacher introduced them to the genre.[ 7] They started writing their own poetry in high school.[ 8]
Brookins attended Texas Christian University and graduated in 2017.[ 9]
Career
Brookins received the 2022 Treehouse Climate Action Prize from the Academy of American Poets for their poem "Good Grief".[ 10] Their poetry chapbook How To Identify Yourself with a Wound won the Saguaro Poetry Prize and a Writer's League of Texas Discovery Prize.[ 11] [ 12] It was also selected as a 2023 Stonewall Honor Book Award through the American Library Association .[ 13]
Freedom House explores themes of race , transgender identity, and gentrification among others.[ 14] Vogue called their writing style in the book "urgent and timely while still holding space for the possibility of a life lived on one’s own terms."[ 15] Karla J. Strand of Ms. included it in "the best poetry of the last year".[ 16] Freedom House won the 2024 Stonewall Book Award Barbara Gittings Literature Award and an award with the Texas Institute of Letters .[ 17] Freedom House was named a best book of 2023 by Autostraddle , Texas Observer , and Chicago Review of Books .[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21]
Pretty has gotten favorable reviews in Kirkus among other venues.[ 22] Brookins worked as a Program Coordinator at The University of Texas at Austin ’s Gender and Sexuality Center.[ 23] [ 24] Brookins founded two nonprofit organizations in Austin, Texas : Interfaces [ 25] [ 26] and Embrace Austin.[ 27] Brookins stated that Interfaces started "as a response to 'a serious problem with accessibility' of all kinds, including physical and financial, in the literary and arts events they attended in Austin."[ 28]
Brookins is the subject of a documentary that premieres at the 2024 BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival .[ 29] Brookins turned their book Freedom House into an art exhibit, which premiered in Austin, Texas in April 2024.[ 30]
Works
Books
Poems
Essays
Zines
—— (2023). Nothing Was the Cause of Their Deaths . Winter Storm Project. ISBN 9798218222475 .
—— (2021). A New Relationship to Pain . LibroMobile. OCLC 1296956995 . [ 48]
—— (2019). In Another Life . [ 49]
Art Exhibits
Freedom House: An Exhibition. 2024[ 30]
In Anthology
Edited
Winter Storm Project: Austin, Texas Artists on Winter Storm Uri . Winter Storm Project. 13 February 2022. ISBN 9780578361123 .
Awards and fellowships
Personal life
Brookins moved to Austin, TX in 2018.[ 2] Brookins identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.[ 57] They currently are a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin.[ 58]
References
^ This article incorporates public domain material from Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins . National Endowment for the Arts .
^ a b St. Jude, Jenn (2022). "Validated, Represented, and Connected to a Larger Narrative: An Interview with KB" . Chicago Review of Books .
^ Ripatrazone, Nick (2023), "Must-read Poetry: Spring 2023" , The Millions
^ Specter, Emma (2024-05-23). "In Their New Memoir 'Pretty', KB Brookins Blends Poetry and Prose to Paint a Vivid Portrait of Black Southern Transmasculinity" . Vogue . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ ortiz, mónica teresa (2024-05-28). "Book review of Pretty by KB Brookins" . BookPage | Discover your next great book! . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ "KB (Brookins)" . id.loc.gov . Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "KB Brookins and Holly Amos on Systemic Freedom, the Power of Insistence, and What People Don't Understand about Texas" . The Poetry Magazine Podcast (Podcast). Poetry Foundation. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "A Normal Interview with KB Brookins by James O'Bannon" . The Normal School . 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-16 .
^ Wilson, Jeff (2023-05-10). "KB Brookins: How It Started ... How It's Going" . TCU Magazine . Retrieved 2023-05-16 .
^ a b "The Academy of American Poets Announces 2022 Winners of the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize" . poets.org . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "Saguaro Poetry Prize Winner" . Kallisto Gaia Press . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ a b "2022 Book Award Winners and Finalists" . Writers League of Texas . 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2023-10-02 .
^ "Stonewall Book Awards List" . American Library Association . 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-25 .
^ "Freedom House" . Deep Vellum . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "The Best New Poetry Collections to Read (or Preorder) Now" . Vogue . 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ Strand, Karla J. (2023-04-20). "Reads for the Rest of Us: The Best Poetry of the Last Year" . Ms. Magazine . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ a b "Home" . texasinstituteofletters.org . 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2024-03-18 .
^ a b RAGARCIA (2024-02-05). " "Freedom House" wins 2024 Stonewall Barbara Gittings Literature Award" . News and Press Center . Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ Casey (2023-12-12). "65 of the Best Queer Books of 2023" . Autostraddle . Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ "61 Notable Debuts by Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-conforming Authors" . Chicago Review of Books . 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ Olsen, Lise (2023-12-13). "The Texas Observer's 2023 Must-Read Lone Star Books" . The Texas Observer . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ "Pretty by KB Brookins: 9780593537145 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books" . PenguinRandomhouse.com . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ "Speakers discuss steps for change at UT during final day of State of Black UT" . The Daily Texan . 2021.
^ Field, Kelly (February 12, 2024). "What's In a Name?" . The Chronicle of Higher Education .
^ Weller, Dorothy Meiburg (July 30, 2021). "In Austin, indie creative writing communities thrive beyond the ivory tower" . Sightlines .
^ Neumann, Laiken (2021). " "Very Queer and Very Hip-Hop": ATX Interfaces Cuts the Crap With Community-Based Art Programming" . The Austin Chronicle .
^ Sullivan, Beth (2021). "Embrace Austin Seeks to Build Bridges Between Queer People and Queer Initiatives" . The Austin Chronicle .
^ Weller, Dorothy Meiburg (2021-07-30). "In Austin, indie creative writing communities thrive beyond the ivory tower" . Sightlines . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2024" . BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2024 . Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ a b Anderson, Carys. "The Off Beat: KB Brookins' Poetry Book-Turned-Art Exhibit" . www.austinchronicle.com . Retrieved 2024-04-14 .
^ "Pretty by KB Brookins: 9780593537145" . PenguinRandomhouse.com . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ "Freedom House" . Deep Vellum . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ "How to Identify Yourself with a Wound" . Kallisto Gaia Press . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ a b c d "March 2023" . Poetry Magazine . Poetry Foundation . March 2023.
^ "KB Brookins | Kenyon Review Author" . The Kenyon Review . Retrieved 2023-10-02 .
^ "miCRo: "What's on your mind, KB?" by KB Brookins - The Cincinnati Review" . 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Love Machine | Poetry Database | Split This Rock" . www.splitthisrock.org . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Poets, Academy of American. "Good Grief by KB Brookins - Poems | Academy of American Poets" . Poets.org . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "We Are Not Untouchable" . 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Juarez, Alex (2022-05-02). "My Gender Won't Fit in the Family Car" . Electric Literature . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "American Poetry Review - KB Brookins - "& Somehow, Men Are Nicer to Me Now" " . American Poetry Review . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "KB Brookins on "T Shot #4" " . Poetry Society of America . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Freedom House: A Sonic Bibliography" . Oxford American . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Brookins, K. B. (2022-12-21). "Trans Texans Are Being Surveilled, This Is Everyone's Issue" . Autostraddle . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "How Kendrick Lamar Stumbles Toward Queer And Trans Allyship On "Auntie Diaries" - Okayplayer" . www.okayplayer.com . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "This Is What It's Like Going To The Gynecologist When You're Black, Trans And In Texas" . HuffPost . 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Why I Won't Be Coming Out to My Family During the Holidays" . Teen Vogue . 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "A new relationship to pain : poems" . www.worldcat.org . Retrieved 2023-07-27 .
^ "zines" . KB Brookins . Retrieved 2023-07-27 .
^ "Nia KB" . Lambda Literary . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "2021 Emerging Voices Fellows and Mentors" . PEN America .
^ "Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize | Academy of American Poets" . Academy of American Poets . 2022.
^ "Poet KB to Serve as Fred Ewing Case and Lola Case Writer-in-Residence Sept. 15 - WIU News" . www.wiu.edu . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "Current Artist in Residence Archives" . Civil Rights Corps . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins" .
^ admin (2009-09-09). "Stonewall Book Awards List" . Round Tables . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Rangel, Leslie (2021). "Poet using spoken, written word to provide hope and understanding" . Fox 7. Retrieved 2021-06-11 .
^ "Profile for KB Brookins at UT Austin" . liberalarts.utexas.edu . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
External links