Sonia Sanchez
The official website for the renowned writer, poet, playwright and activist.
Theater to Be Named After Sonia Sanchez
At their ‘Weaving Community and Coalition Through Arts Justice’ Fall Festival, the Stella Adler Center has a big announcement to make. A theater is going to be named after master poet, American icon, and longtime friend of the Center, Sonia Sanchez! The event will be free and open to the public as well as feature MacArthur Fellow Reginald Dwayne Betts. Visit the Stella Adler Center’s website for more info!
Sonia Sanchez Wins the Jackson Poetry Prize!
Another award for Ms. Sanchez! Poets & Writers announced on April 26, 2022 that she has been awarded the Jackson Poetry Prize. The prize is awarded annually by Poets & Writers to recognize an American poet of exceptional talent. Endowed by John and Susan Jackson, this year’s prize carries a monetary award of $80,000.
Ms. Sanchez was selected by three esteemed judges: the poets Mary Jo Bang, Marilyn Chin, and Claudia Rankine. There was no application process. Poets were nominated by a panel of their peers who will remain anonymous. All her awards have consecrated her status as national treasure.
Poets & Writers will host a virtual celebration in honor of Ms. Sanchez this spring. For more information, visit pw.org.
They have more details!
Sonia Sanchez to Receive the 2022 Edward MacDowell Medal!
It’s raining awards for Ms. Sanchez! She is this year’s winner of the Edward MacDowell Medal, a lifetime achievement honor started in 1960 and previously given to Robert Frost, Toni Morrison, and Stephen Sondheim among others.
Novelist Walter Mosley will present Ms. Sanchez her medal on July 10, 2022, on the MacDowell grounds in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the first in-person ceremony since 2019, the year before the pandemic.
ABC News has more details!
Sonia Sanchez Will Receive the 2022 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award!
Another award for Ms. Sanchez! Along with Viet Thanh Nguyen and James Patterson, she will receive the 2022 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award. The award recognizes the honorees as “leaders and community-builders committed to stewarding a diverse array of literary voices—and to helping these voices reach readers.” Poets & Writers has more details!
Sonia Sanchez Won the Gish Prize!
Yes! Sonia Sanchez has been awarded the Gish Prize “in recognition of her ongoing achievements in inspiring change through the power of the word.” The cash award of the prize amounts to $250,000. Philadelphia Inquirer has more details on this amazing news!
Collected Poems
A representative collection of the life work of the much-honored poet and a founder of the Black Arts movement, spanning the 4 decades of her literary career.
Gathering highlights from all of Sonia Sanchez’s poetry, this compilation is sure to inspire love and community engagement among her legions of fans. Beginning with her earliest work, including poems from her first volume, Homecoming (1969), through to 2019, the poet has collected her favorite work in all forms of verse, from Haiku to excerpts from book-length narratives. Her lifelong dedication to the causes of Black liberation, social equality, and women’s rights is evident throughout, as is her special attention to youth in poems addressed to children and young adults.
As Maya Angelou so aptly put it: “Sonia Sanchez is a lion in literature’s forest. When she writes she roars, and when she sleeps other creatures walk gingerly.”
Available from:
Bookshop.org, Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Beacon Press, Amazon
Special Pre-Order Gift Offer for “Collected Poems”
If you pre-order Collected Poems from your favorite retailer by April 13, you’re eligible for a special free gift. Upload confirmation of your pre-order and you’ll receive a broadside of her poem “Haiku for Harriet Tubman.” The first 50 will be signed by Sonia Sanchez! Click here for details on how to enter!
New Book from Sonia Sanchez Coming in April 2021!
The wait is almost over!
This April, Beacon Press is publishing Collected Poems, a representative collection of the life work of the much-honored poet and a founder of the Black Arts Movement, spanning the four decades of her literary career.
Gathering highlights from all of Sonia Sanchez’s poetry, this compilation is sure to inspire love and community engagement among her legions of fans. Beginning with her earliest work, including poems from her first volume, Homecoming (1969), through to 2019, the poet has collected her favorite work in all forms of verse, from Haiku to excerpts from book-length narratives. Her lifelong dedication to the causes of Black liberation, social equality, and women’s rights is evident throughout, as is her special attention to youth in poems addressed to children and young adults.
Just in time for National Poetry Month!
And without further ado, we unveil the cover art!
Sonia Sanchez talks about how the book “Little Women” inspired her
“I identified with Jo, the main character in Little Women, because not only was she independent but she also wanted to be a writer.”
Read more in the New York Times.