Guiding Voices: Aracelis Girmay

Meet Aracelis Girmay

Guiding Voices and Poetry International present a special program with American poet Aracelis Girmay . She speaks with writer Ernest van der Kwast at LantarenVenster. You will discover more about her work and how she imagines parallel worlds. This conversation takes place during the 56th edition of the Poetry International Festival.

About the poetry of Girmay

In the poems of Aracelis Girmay, small details take on deep meaning. Everyday things, such as the sound of cutlery, can evoke a sense of infinite loss. Girmay describes moments of transition in a loving way. Think of the African diaspora, war, and birth. But also the taste of salt, galloping horses, and a special dream. Her poetry illuminates life in all its facets, captured in surprising observations and an optimistic view of the world.

About Aracelis Girmay

Aracelis Girmay (1977) is a poet and author. She has published four poetry collections. One of her newest works is GREEN OF ALL HEADS (2025), nominated for the PEN America Literary Awards 2026. She also wrote The Black Maria (2016). Girmay worked as an editor on So We Can Know: Writers of Color on Pregnancy, Loss, Abortion, and Birth (2023) and How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton (2020). She was a finalist for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and received an Academy of American Poets Fellowship. Girmay collaborates with illustrators and theater makers. She is also an editor at the African Poetry Book Fund and teaches at Stanford University.