Ariana Benson, C'2019, has won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize best poetry book of the year. Benson is a southern Black ecopoet. Her debut collection, Black Pastoral (University of Georgia Press, 2023) won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, the 2024 Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and was a finalist for the National Books Critics Circle Leonard Prize and the Library of Virginia Prize in Poetry.
Established in 1975, this $25,000 award recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in the previous calendar year. The prize includes a ten-day residency at Glen Hollow in Naples, New York, and distribution of the winning book to hundreds of Academy of American Poets members, according to the program's website.
"The Academy is a premier institution that promotes the writing and study of poetry, as well as recognition and exposure for poets through its many prizes. The prize is a prestigious marker of promise in a poet's career; to have received it at this early stage is a phenomenal accomplishment and a boost to her reputation as a serious poet," said English professor Sharan Strange. "Ariana is a brilliant thinker, and, as my student in creative writing workshops, she always exhibited great curiosity - a very important trait for an artist. Once she decided to become a poet, she quickly immersed herself in reading and understanding poetic craft. That's who she is—she gets fired up, so you get to step back and observe with delight how she gets on with her business of deep exploration! I thoroughly enjoyed—and continue to relish—being a mentor to such a luminous young poet!"
As a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellow, Benson facilitates creative writing and storytelling workshops for HBCU students, and also holds Masters of Arts degrees in both poetic practice and scriptwriting, which she earned as a Marshall Scholar. Through her writing, she strives to fashion vignettes of Blackness that speak to its infinite depth and richness.
What were your thoughts going into the application process and what was the experience like?
For a prize like this one that awards an already published book, submissions are usually made by the press itself—in my case, I've had the delight of working with the University of Georgia Press. I was previously aware of the Lenore Marshall Prize, especially because of its history of being awarded to some of the most influential Black women poets in my writing journey (Ama Codjoe, Patricia Smith, Wanda Coleman, to name a few). I asked my press if they'd be willing to submit my book. They obliged and generously paid the entry fee — all I did after that was wait. Black Pastoral is my first book and only one other debut has ever won this prize, so I didn't have too many expectations for what would happen after submission. When I woke up to a missed call and text message from Ricardo Alberto Maldonado, the President of the Academy of American Poets, letting me know that my manuscript had been selected (out of a pool of over 250 applicants), I was shocked. Thrilled, of course, but that specific kind of shock is one I won't soon forget.
Did anyone encourage you to apply?
If there's anyone I can credit for encouraging me to submit my book far and wide to as many prizes as possible (including this one), it's the poet Remica Bingham-Risher. She's quietly, humbly become one of the most critical mentoring figures to an entire contemporary generation of Black poets, one of whom I consider myself a proud member. She is also, of course, a brilliant poet herself and so has experience stewarding a book into the world. Prizes are a part of that, but many steps come before that — asking writers for blurbs (back-cover paragraphs of praise), ordering the poems in the final manuscript, ensuring your contract is fair and effective — that she guided me and so many other young Black writers through. I'm forever grateful for her.
How did your Spelman College experience impact your work?
Spelman is where I first waded into the waters of contemporary Black poetry. Of course, I had the honor of being guided by the inimitable Professor Strange, who was generous enough to write the foreword for Black Pastoral, probably the greatest poetic gift I'll ever receive. To have my first teacher, my truest reader, grace my collection with her thoughts and analysis – a dream come true. She also taught me to focus on the craft of writing, to do the work of honing my pen, and if I did, the rest (publication, prizes, etc...) would follow. Still, the best advice I've ever gotten as a poet.
Interestingly enough, the first full-length collection I ever read was Kyle Dargan's Honest Engine, which she assigned in Intro to Poetry. I never imagined that about six years later, he'd be one of the judges who awarded my first book a major poetry prize. My whole poetry journey has been beautifully full circle in that way. Almost feels scripted in its satisfying narrative constellations.
Did any faculty members inspire you?
In addition to Professor Strange, I remain inspired by Dr. Michelle Hite, the director of the Honors Program. Our connection developed as I worked on my application for the Marshall Scholarship, which allowed me to study poetry in London after I graduated. Dr. Hite taught me, among many valuable lessons, how to be intentional with how I presented and submitted myself (through my writing) to the world. Through our conversations, I began to understand the power of words as tools for building an artistic and intellectual self.
I also have to credit Dan Bascelli, my beloved quiz bowl coach! He was my biggest supporter all four years, and watching the way he supports and encourages every student who walks into the media center, searching for a way to bring their creative ideas to fruition, provided an incredible example of what it meant to be in and about community, a critical part of any artist's experience. And, of course, the legendary Dr. Gloria Wade-Gayles. "Tend the muses," she told me, "and they'll be good to you." And they certainly have.
What are your future goals?
I hope to be a part of starting a Creative Writing MFA program at an HBCU, as there are currently none. The opportunity to study the craft of storytelling on a graduate level was invaluable to my journey, and I think it must also exist in a historically Black context, where students can learn from our canon and proudly write in and out of our traditions.
Do you have any advice for current Spelman students?
Read. Everything. How the world expands around you as you take in others' voices, experiences, memories, and perspectives is nothing short of magical. And understand that even activities like watching Netflix and scrolling social media can count as reading, so long as you're engaged, asking yourself questions, and making meaning from what you see. So much of my poetry is inspired by real-world events. You never know where you might find that next bit of inspiration. Also, talk to your professors, especially about what you're reading. Having substantive conversations and building relationships, not just with other students, but with faculty and staff, was how I found true value in my Spelman experience, especially since I've left its gates and made my way into the professional writing world.
What’s coming up next for you?
I just finished my M.F.A. in Poetry at Washington University in St. Louis, and having completed that right after I finished my Marshall Scholarship degrees, I think I'm due for a bit of a break. That said, I'm always reading, always keeping my ear to the wind for new ideas. In terms of my own writing, I'm working on an essay collection about growing up in the Screen Age and have the early whispers of a novel loosely based on histories of the American South.
Benson Uses Creative Writing to Preserve Cultural Memory
The Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize honors the memory of Lenore Marshall (1897-1971), a poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist. She was the author of three novels, three books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and selections from her notebooks. Her work appeared in such distinguished literary magazines as The New Yorker, The Saturday Review, and Partisan Review. In 1956 she helped found the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, the citizens’ organization that lobbied successfully for passage of the 1963 partial nuclear test ban treaty. In 1994, the Academy was selected by the New Hope Foundation to administer the award.
