upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

Nicole Greaves

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2001 Seedling Award

In poetry there are two main objectives for me: form and content. Each informs the other and thus they become symbiotic. The trick is not to let one be compromised by the other. As I grow as a poet I want most to continue my study and development of the genre through the study of form and to master the marriage of lyric and narrative. I think that what a poet speaks to has more to do with experience than anything else, therefore I think my poems will speak for themselves in relationship to subject. But it's also my hope that I am able to reach people on both an emotional and intellectual level, which I also think are symbiotic. Through emotional revelation there is intellection revelation that informs how well you live your life and how you treat other people. Through writing and teaching I try to bring forth discourse and contemplation that will bring rise to these revelations, for myself and those I am lucky enough to reach. Otherwise, I write because it's necessary for my survival.
 

WHEN IT HAPPENS IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY

The seam of her coat ripped
in winter. The music box silent
since Abuela died. No pills in the medicine cabinet.
Red wine in the refrigerator.

Her ear against a glass hears the rumba next door
and Junior pounding his feet against wood.
Through the window
she watches the lady down the street
catch cats and pigeons. Junior says for dinner.

On her knees she bends to kiss
Mama's head.
Mama has stopped talking since Abuela died
or else she would tell her to stay away
from Junior. She bleeds a little
then it stops and comes back.
She will not see a doctor.

Junior brings her flowers and then disappears,
some say back to Puerto Rico to find his daughter.
She can't remember Puerto Rico.
She winds the music box up,
sits and stares at the ballerina
whose left arm is missing.
She throws away her coat.

From the television she learns
the proper way to use a knife
and spends her evenings cutting carrots
into tiny tropical flowers
to put in her soup. Mama smiles.

Summer comes and she opens
all the windows and doors.
Junior comes back, alone, dark
and beautiful. She goes
to his house to listen to rumba.
The music box is silent again.
She bleeds a little and then it stops.

APPLY FOR A

Leeway grant?

Window of Opportunity Grant

The Window of Opportunity (WOO) grant provides financial assistance of up to $1,500 to Leeway grant and award recipients to help them take advantage of imminent, time-sensitive opportunities to support their art for social change practice. The Community Care Fund (CCF) provides financial assistance of up to $1,250 to Leeway grant and award recipients to support with immediate and essential emergency needs. [read more]

deadline
Upcoming events
04/025:30 pm - 7:00 pm

4/2 Transformation Award (LTA) Awardee Panel + Info Session (In Person)

Have questions about the application process for the Leeway Transformation Award (LTA)?

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04/185:30 pm - 6:30 pm

4/18 Transformation Award (LTA) Info Session (Virtual)

Have questions about the application process for the Leeway Transformation Award?

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