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Darius Simpson

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Darius Simpson
At a reading at the San Francisco Public Library in 2024
Born
Akron, Ohio
EducationMills College
OccupationWriter
Writing career
Years active2014–present
Movement
New Afrikan
Websitewww.dariussimpson.com

Darius Simpson is a Black American poet based in Oakland, California.[1]

Early life

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Simpson was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. When Simpson was in the 4th grade, his teacher recognized his talent for poetry and his mother encouraged him to keep writing poems.[1] He is a graduate of Alchemy Inc., a nonprofit that mentors young men of color.[2]

Career

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While working on his undergraduate degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University,[3] Simpson was radicalized by the murder of Mike Brown, the Ferguson uprising, and the state's suppression of it.[4] Simpson traveled to Ferguson on the one year anniversary of Brown's death to be with the Ferguson community. He stated about Brown's murder and the community's reaction to it, "Something snapped in me, seeing the memorial, seeing how Ferguson reacted inspired me to take it back to Michigan."[5] Simpson also supported community members impacted by the Flint water crisis.[6]

Simpson was featured in the documentary Finding the Gold Within, which followed the college experiences of him and five other Black men from Akron, Ohio.[7][2]

In 2015, Simpson competed and coached the EMU team at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Simpson and the EMU team placed third overall out of 68 other universities.[3] The EMU team earned performances on the final stage at the competition, where Simpson performed the duet poem "Lost Voices" with teammate Scout Bosley.[8] The poem, about the importance of marginalized people speaking for themselves, was published on Button Poetry and went viral, garnering over 4 million views by 2019.[9][10][11]

In 2020, Simpson was awarded a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, receiving a $25,800 prize.[12]

In 2022, Simpson published his book Never Catch Me, about "being a Black boy coming up in the Midwest".[13][14] In 2023, the book won a Midwest Book Award.[15]

In 2024, Essence featured him in an article about visionary artistic activists, writing, "Simpson's work exemplifies the artist's responsibility to confront and preserve."[14]

Awards

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  • College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational Finalist, 2015[3]
  • Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship, 2020[12]
  • 2nd Prize, Common Ground Annual Poetry Competition, 2020[16]
  • Runner-up for the Auburn Witness Poetry Prize, 2021[17]
  • NORward Prize for Poetry, 2021[18]
  • 2nd Place, Previously Published Prize, 2021[19]
  • Creative Writing Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts, 2023[20]
  • Midwest Book Award, 2023[15]

Works

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Poetry collections

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  • Never Catch Me, Button Poetry, 2022 ISBN 978-1-63834-048-5

Poems

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References

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  1. 1 2 Esquinca, Maria; Guevarra, Ericka Cruz; Montecillo, Alan (April 12, 2024). "Poetry in Service of Politics: A Conversation with Darius Simpson | KQED". www.kqed.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Alchemy helps young black men with 'Finding the Gold Within'". Knight Foundation. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Lost Voices' Video: He Speaks as Her and She Speaks as Him with Potent Impact". Deadline Detroit. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025.
  4. ↑ "This Oakland-Based Poet Wants You to Step Up Your Politics". Broke-Ass Stuart's Website. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Family still mourning Brown one year after death, father says". Associated Press. August 8, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  6. ↑ "USA Today Investigation Finds Unsafe Drinking Water Lead Levels in All 50 States". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  7. ↑ Hayford, Makela. "Social Justice Institute hosts Think Tank". The Observer. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  8. ↑ "This Is What Happens When a Black Man and a White Woman Talk About Privilege". Mic. June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ campagna, anna (November 2, 2019). "Darius & Scout - Lost Voices". Button Poetry. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  10. ↑ Grimm, Beca. "A Black Man & A White Woman Trade Voices In This Moving Poem". www.refinery29.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  11. ↑ Wheaton, Oliver (October 28, 2015). "Darius Simpson and Scout Bostley's joint poem 'lost voices' as black man and white woman speak for one another". Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Poetry Foundation Announces the 2020 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent..." The Poetry Foundation. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  13. ↑ "'Never Catch Me' (Button Poetry)". Button Poetry. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  14. 1 2 "Art As Activism: Three Visionaries Preserving Legacy Through Storytelling, Movement, And Visual Art". Essence. August 23, 2024. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  15. 1 2 "2023 Winners – Midwest Independent Publishers Association". Archived from the original on February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ "The Common Ground Review Blog". Common Ground Review. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  17. 1 2 "54.3 Darius Simpson I Left the Church in Search of God". Southern Humanities Review. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  18. 1 2 newohioreviewonlineissues (July 10, 2021). "We Don't Die". New Ohio Review. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  19. ↑ Simpson, Darius (May 26, 2021). "If I'm Caught Between a Badge and a Hard Place Three Hours After the Street Lights Turn On". Palette Poetry. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Darius Simpson". www.arts.gov. Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Issue Thirty-Five: Darius Simpson - The Adroit Journal". October 19, 2020. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  22. ↑ "American Poetry Review - Darius Simpson - "Early 2000s Fashion Was a Confusing Time for All of Us"". American Poetry Review. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Perhaps We Are Our Ancestors' Wildest Dreams". The Poetry Foundation. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  24. ↑ Philp, Bayan Founas, Drew. "The 2024 Fiction Issue". Detroit Metro Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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