Shakeema Smalls

Shakeema Smalls is poet and developmental editor from Georgetown, South Carolina. She has been widely published in outlets such as Honey Literary, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Emergent Literary, Tidal Basin Review, Root Work Journal, Radius Lit, Free Black Space, Vinyl Poetry and Prose, Michigan Quarterly Review, Fruit Journal, and Foglifter, among others. A Tin House Workshop and VONA alum, she was a 2022 PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and currently serves as the Markus D. Manley Poet-in-Residence at The Poetry Lab. Smalls is a Pushcart nominee and a 2024 Best of the Net nominee.

Artist Statement

My name is Shakeema Smalls, and I am applying for The Southern Prize and State Fellowships for Literary Arts to honor and amplify the rich traditions of Gullah Geechee culture, our traditional spirituality, our diaspora, and the experiences of Black girlhood that profoundly inspire my poetry. This opportunity aligns with my passion for bridging cultural heritage with contemporary issues. I aim to use this platform to expand my artistic reach and further contribute to the vibrant literary landscape of South Carolina and the wider United States.

My poetry interrogates how systemic violence shapes our ability to navigate intimacy while exploring themes of oppression, resistance, and the distortion of reality in a society burdened by capitalist structures. The Southern Prize and State Fellowships would offer me a vital opportunity to refine and elevate these themes. As a self-motivated writer, I am deeply committed to using this opportunity to contribute meaningfully to southern literary traditions.

I am a Tin House Workshop and VONA alum, and a 2022 PEN Emerging Voices alum. Currently, I serve as the Markus D. Manley Poet-in-Residence at The Poetry Lab. I am also a Pushcart Prize nominee and a 2024 Best of the Net nominee.