Natalie Diaz (born September 4, 1978) is a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning Mojave

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, language activist, former professional basketball player, and educator. She is enrolled in the

Gila River Indian Community The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) ( O'odham language: Keli Akimel Oʼotham, meaning "Gila River People", Maricopa language: Piipash) is an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona, lying adjacent to the south side of the cities of ...

and identifies as

Akimel O'odham The Akimel O'odham (Oʼodham language, O'odham for "river people"), also called the Pima, are an Indigenous people of the Americas living in the United States in central and southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico in the states of Sonora and Ch ...

. She is currently an associate professor at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Early life

Natalie Diaz was born in Needles,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on September 4, 1978. She grew up in the

Fort Mojave Fort Mohave was originally named Camp Colorado when it was established on April 19, 1859 by Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman during the Mohave War. It was located on the east bank of the Colorado River, at Beale's Crossing, near the head of ...

Indian Village in Needles, California, on the border of California,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. She attended

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

, where she played point guard on the women's basketball team, reaching the NCAA Final Four as a freshman and the bracket of sixteen her other three years. She earned a bachelor's degree. After playing professional basketball in Europe and Asia, she returned to Old Dominion University, and completed an MFA in poetry and fiction, in 2006.

Career

Her work appeared in ''Narrative'', ''

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

magazine'', ''Drunken Boat'', ''

Prairie Schooner ''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publi ...

'', '' Iowa Review'', and ''Crab Orchard Review''. Diaz's debut book of poetry, ''When My Brother Was an Aztec'', "portrays experiences rooted in Native American life with personal and mythic power." It was a 2012 Lannan Literary Selection, was shortlisted for the 2013 PEN/Open Book Award, and was a 2013

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

winner. One important focus of the book is a sister struggling with her brother's addiction to crystal meth. In 2012, she was interviewed about her poetry and language rehabilitation work on the ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

''. In 2018, she was named as the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary Poetry at Arizona State University. In 2019, she was faculty at the CantoMundo Retreat. In 2021, her book ''Postcolonial Love Poem'' won the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...

. It was called "a collection of tender, heart-wrenching and defiant poems that explore what it means to love and be loved in an America beset by conflict." The book was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award, a finalist for the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a finalist for the 2020 Forward Prize for Best Collection, and shortlisted for the 2020 T. S. Eliot Prize.

Personal life

Diaz currently lives in

Mohave Valley, Arizona Mohave Valley ('Amat' 'Analy Uuhwely in Mojave language, Mojave) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. The populatio ...

, where she used to work on language revitalization at

, her home reservation. She worked with the last Elder speakers of the Mojave language. She is enrolled as member of the Gila Indian Community.

Poetry

* * In anthology * Kurt Schweigman and

Lucille Lang Day Lucille Lang Day (born December 5, 1947) is an American poet, writer, and science and health educator. Day has authored or edited 20 books and is a contributor to over 60 anthologies. She is best known as a poet and writer for her award-winning me ...

, eds. (2016). ''Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California''. Scarlet Tanager Books. *

Awards and honors

, - , 2007 , ''No More Cake Here'' , Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry , , - , 2007 , ''The Hooferman'' , Tobias Wolff Fiction Prize , , - , 2012 , Poetry Fellow , Lannan Literary Fellowship , , - , 2012 , ''Downhill Triolets'' , Narrative Prize , , - , 2012 , Poetry Scholar , Louis Untermeyer Scholarship in Poetry , "Natalie Diaz"
Poetry Foundation. , - , 2015 , Writing Fellow , PEN/Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship , , - , 2018 , Poetry Fellow ,

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

, , - , 2021 , ''Postcolonial Love Poem'' ,

References

External links

*
Natalie Diaz
Blue Flower Arts
Natalie Diaz poems
Academy of American Poets {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Natalie 1978 births Living people American Book Award winners American women's basketball players American women poets MacArthur Fellows Native American poets Native American women writers Old Dominion Monarchs women's basketball players 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American writers Native American basketball players Poets from California Basketball players from California People from Needles, California Native American sportswomen Native American women poets Language activists