Melanie Henderson

Poet

Washington, DC
District Of Columbia US

Author's Bio

Melanie Henderson, Washington, DC native poet, editor, photographer and publisher, is the author of Elegies for New York Avenue, winner of the 2011 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. An alumnus of Howard and Trinity Universities, she studied poetry at Howard University in Dr. Tony Medina’s “Boot Camp” and at the Voices Summer Writing Workshops (VONA) in San Francisco, CA prior to earning an MFA from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Her poems have appeared in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Drumvoices Revue, jubilat, Torch, Tuesday; An Art Project, Valley Voices, and The Washington Informer among others. She is a recipient of the 2009 Larry Neal Writers Award and received a 2013 Pushcart Prize nomination from Iris G. Press. She is a Founding Editor of Tidal Basin Review. Learn more at: www.dcelegies.com.

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Where We Stand: Poems of Black Resistance (Cherry Castle Publishing, 2022)
,
Mourning Katrina, A Poetic Response to Tragedy (Mariner Media, Inc., 2009)
,
Fingernails across the Chalkboard: Poetry and Prose on HIV/AIDS from the Black Diaspora (Third World Press, 2008)
Book:
Elegies for New York Avenue (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2011)
Journals:
Amistad
,
Barely South Review
, ,
Black Arts Quarterly
,
Drumvoices Revue
,
Drunken Boat
,
Fledgling Rag
,
jubilat
, ,
Reverie: Midwest African American Literature
, ,
Southern Women’s Review,
, ,
The Potomac Review
, ,
Tuesday; An Art Project
, , ,
WarpLand
,
X Magazine
Prizes won: 

2009 Larry Neal Writers’ Award (DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities); 2011 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award (Elegies for New York Avenue)

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Lucille Clifton Robery Hayden Harryette Mullen Brenda Marie Osbey

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
African American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Washington, DC
District Of Columbia
Raised in: 
Washington, DC
District Of Columbia
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Jan 05, 2023