Aziza Danielle Bailey Barnes (born October 1992) is an American poet. Barnes frequently performs slam poetry and has performed at the Da Poetry Lounge, Urban Word NYC,

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...

and Nuyoricans Poets Cafe.

Education

Barnes received their B.A from the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. They received their MFA from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

Career

Barnes is the author of the chapbook ''me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun'' (2013), which won an Exploding Pinecone Prize from

Button Poetry Button Poetry is a Minneapolis-based poetry company and independent publisher of performance poetry. They are known for their viral videos of slam poetry performances, including a performance of "OCD" by Neil Hilborn that the Knight Foundation c ...

. Their full-length collection, ''i be but i ain’t'' (2016), won a Pamet River Prize from YesYes Books. They are the cofounder of the ''Poetry Gods'' podcast and the co-founder of The Conversation Literary Festival. Barnes wrote the play ''BLKS'', which played at

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

in Chicago. Their upcoming collection, ''The Blind Pig'' will be released by Not A Cult media.

''BLKS''

''BLKS'' centers around the story of four black millennial friends, Octavia, June, Ry and Imani, who share a New York City apartment. The play has been called "comedic social realism" and is a " day in the life" style of work. The production has been compared to the TV Show ''Girls.'' ''BLKS'' was originally Barnes' final thesis project at NYU. Actors Nora Carroll (Octavia), Leea Ayers (June), Danielle Davis (Ry) and Celeste M. Cooper (Imani) performed in the Steppenwolf's Theatre Company's rendition of ''BLKS.'' The show was directed by Nataki Garrett and artistic director Anna D. Shapiro. The show debuted on December 18, 2017, and ran through January 28, 2018.

Awards

* 2015 Winter Tangerine Award * 2013 NYU Grey Art Gallery Prize for Radical Presence * Emerging Poets fellowship at Poets House * Cave Canem Fellow * Antonyo Award for Best Play for BLKS

Personal life

Barnes is black, and identifies as queer. They are originally from, and currently live in, Los Angeles. Barnes was born with a polycystic ovary and as such grows facial hair. They use they/their/them pronouns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Aziza 21st-century American poets Poets from Los Angeles Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of Mississippi alumni Slam poets Living people 1992 births