Ordinary Beast by Nicole Sealey

Ordinary Beast by Nicole Sealey

ONE OF PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'S TOP 10 POETRY BOOKS OF FALL 2017

NPR'S MOST ANTICIPATED POETRY BOOKS OF 2017

A striking, full-length debut collection from Virgin Islands-born poet Nicole Sealey



The existential magnitude, deep intellect, and playful subversion of St. Thomas-born, Florida-raised poet Nicole Sealey's work is restless in its empathic, succinct examination and lucid awareness of what it means to be human.



The ranging scope of inquiry undertaken in Ordinary Beast--at times philosophical, emotional, and experiential--is evident in each thrilling twist of image by the poet. In brilliant, often ironic lines that move from meditation to matter of fact in a single beat, Sealey's voice is always awake to the natural world, to the pain and punishment of existence, to the origins and demises of humanity. Exploring notions of race, sexuality, gender, myth, history, and embodiment with profound understanding, Sealey's is a poetry that refuses to turn a blind eye or deny. It is a poetry of daunting knowledge. 

Born in the city of Saint. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Nicole Sealey is the author of The Animal After Whom Other Animals Are Named, which won the 2015 Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Award. She was born and raised in Apopka, Florida. An Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, The American Poetry Review's Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize, a Daniel Varoujan Award, and the Poetry International Prize, as well as fellowships from CantoMundo, Cave Canem, MacDowell Colony, and the Poetry Project, are among her other awards. Her writing has featured in publications such as The New Yorker and others.

Nicole has a master's degree in Africana studies from the University of South Florida and a master's degree in creative writing from New York University. She works with the Cave Canem Foundation as the Executive Director.