Author: Camille Dungy

On Friday, June 29, in recognition of her work in the field, Camille Dungy was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (ASLE). This honor was bestowed during the organization’s biennial conference, held this year at UC Davis in California. Fellow 2019 honorees include Michael Branch, Mark Long and Ursula Heine. Camille Dungy was introduced by Elizabeth Dodd. (Branch, Long and Heine were introduced respectively by Lauren LaFauci, Erin James, and Heather Sullivan.)

“Those of us familiar with Alabama’s history aren’t particularly surprised to read about a law that will disproportionately and negatively affect women of color and women without the financial means to take themselves and their bodies away from that state. You know, I want to tell people who don’t know about this long and ugly history, you should read books on the subject published recently by Bettina Judd, Kwoya Fagin Maples, and Dominique Christina.”

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This year marks the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth. The #everyatom project has invited 200 people to reflect on Whitman’s 1855 Leaves of Grass. My reflection—the 7th installment—is up today!

Listen here!

From Camille: “New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent, edited by Margaret Busby and published in the US by Amistad Books, contains 990 pages of glory! I’m thrilled to be part of this book. I’m thrilled this book exists in the world. I have read the original Daughters of Africa anthology like a sacred text. Published 25 years ago, it gathered so many legendary voices. Pick up this new book soon. The introduction by Margaret Busby is as gorgeous and expansive as the other 990 pages you’ll read! Writers from the US and all over the world. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction! This could be the one book I’d take to a deserted island. Reading it, I would not be alone.”

Read more about the anthology here!

“Two Poems for Black Mothers in America“

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“Our annual Writing Contests Issue features an in-depth look at how submissions are evaluated and winners are chosen, plus insight from six recent winners; a profile of Utah state poet laureate Paisley Rekdal on the release of her new book, Nightingale; Camille T. Dungy’s guide to living and writing; William Giraldi on author envy; articles on freelance editing and negotiating a contract; tips for successful self-publishing; writing prompts; agent advice; and more.”

Buy the issue here!

“On April 9, 2019, the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation approved the awarding of Guggenheim Fellowships to a diverse group of 168 scholars, artists, and writers. Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants in the Foundation’s ninety-fifth competition.”

See the full list of recipients here.

“One of my fondest memories of Camille (and here, out of affection, I must refer to her by her first name) is eating lunch at her house with her husband and small daughter. We spoke of food that day in her sunlit kitchen, and we spoke of it again a few years later when I was pregnant with my daughter and suffering the effects of morning sickness. ‘Stone fruit,’ Camille prescribed without hesitation.” Read more here!