Omotara James

Born in Britain, Omotara James is the daughter of Nigerian and Trinidadian immigrants. A former social worker in the field of Harm Reduction, she has been awarded fellowships from Lambda Literary and Cave Canem Foundation. She is a recipient of the 2019 92Y / Discovery Poetry Prize and the winner of the 2019 Bread Loaf Katharine Bakeless Nason Award in Poetry. In addition, her work has been recognized with the Nancy P. Schnader Academy of American Poets Prize, the “Bridging the Gap” Slice Literary Award for emerging writers, a Luminaire Poetry Award, two Pushcart Prize nominations and one Best of the Net nomination. She was selected as a 2019 finalist for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. Her poetry has appeared in the Paris Review, the Academy of American Poets, the Believer, Literary Hub, Poetry Society of America, the Recluse, Nat.Brut, Winter Tangerine, No Tokens, Cosmonauts Avenue, and elsewhere, including various anthologies. She holds an MFA in Poetry from New York University and has instructed workshops at NYU, The 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center, Queens Public Library and elsewhere. She is the author of the chapbook “Daughter Tongue” included in New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Tano).