Cave Canem » Blog Archive » A Spotlight on the Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize

A Spotlight on the Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize

This year, Cave Canem will open its fifth annual Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize. Established in 2015 by Cave Canem fellow and former Executive Director Nicole Sealey, in collaboration with P. Scott Cunningham, founder and director of O, Miami, the prize was launched in honor of Cave Canem’s 20th anniversary. Dedicated to the discovery of exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets, prize-winners receive $500, publication by Jai-Alai Books, 10 complimentary copies, a week-long residency at The Writers Room at The Betsy-South Beach and a featured reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival. Previous recipients include Cave Canem fellows Rio Cortez and Nick Makoha, as well as Layla Benitez-James.

Last year, Mia S. Willis was selected as the 2018 awardee by prize judge Dawn Lundy Martin, for their manuscript, monster house. (Jai-Alai Books, 2019). Mia is a Black performance poet from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2019, Mia has been named a Lambda Literary Fellow in Poetry, the first two-time Capturing Fire Slam Champion, the Young Artist Fellow at ChaShaMa’s ChaNorth residency and a collaborator in Forward Together’s Transgender Day of Resilience Art Project. They are a recipient of the 2018 Foothill Editors’ Prize for their poem “hecatomb,” which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and included in Best New Poets 2018 (Uni. of Virginia Press, 2019). In 2018, they ranked fourth out of 96 femme poets at the Women of the World Poetry Slam.

Cave Canem is now accepting submissions to the 2019 Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize! Black poets of African descent at any stage in their career are welcome to submit. This year’s prize judge is Danez Smith. Manuscripts are accepted online via Submittable, now through September 30, 2019. Visit the prize page for guidelines.

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

2015-11-26T15:29:19-05:00

Nikky Finney, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South

“There is nothing like being seen by the eyes of those who, without explanation, understand why you do what you do when you do it. There is nothing like not having to decode or apologize for the sweet pleasure of a word or phrase that will not let loose of your ear.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/nikky-finney-the-ringing-ear-black-poets-lean-south/

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

Toi Derricotte

2015-11-26T15:31:58-05:00

Toi Derricotte

“Cave Canem is a kind of heaven, yes. It’s not just that we are speaking to each other there as black people; it’s that we’ve lived the lives of black poets. We’ve faced the fears, the hurts, and we’re still poets. To undertake and stay with this task, usually so unrewarded, creates a kind of strength and compassion that is enormous.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/toi-derricotte/

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

Traci Dant, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:16-05:00

Traci Dant, Fellow

“Back in 2000 when I was first accepted at Cave Canem, I was working part-time at a bookstore making less than $7 an hour. The scholarship I received was the only reason I was able to attend, and it changed my writing life by introducing me to mentors like Toi Derricotte and Nikky Finney and eventually connecting me to the editor who published my first book. Please consider changing another poet's life by supporting Cave Canem financially.”

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/284/

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

Ross Gay, Fellow

2015-11-26T15:44:48-05:00

Ross Gay, Fellow

“While I can't even begin to measure Cave Canem's value to me personally (community, friendship, rigor), we all can see the radical movement it’s occasioned in American poetry. To be plain: it's changed—and is changing—the face(s) of our literary landscape. How often in our lives will we be able to participate in something as important and beautiful? It's a joy to support this."

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/285/

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

Geffrey Davis

2015-11-26T15:51:22-05:00

Geffrey Davis

“By the time I leave a CC Retreat, I can feel that the internal imperative to Write! has shifted from an obsessive, isolating quality to one of deep communal rites and responsibilities – what healthier transition exists for an artist?

https://cavecanempoets.org/testimonials/geffrey-davis/