Each day leading up to the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony, we’ll be featuring an exclusive interview with one of our 36 finalists. Learn more about these incredible local writers and gear up to see the winners announced live in person April 21.
Interview with Donte Collins, author of Autopsy
Category: Poetry, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
I feel extremely proud of myself and of my community. The community that so graciously welcomed Autopsy into the world and the community/family I write about in the book. After it was published and in the hands of loved ones and strangers, I would pause and think did I really write that down or I can’t believe people know that about me. It is encouraging to know that my stories, even while dealing shame and grief, are welcomed and celebrated.
What does writing mean to you?
It means to garden.
Why are stories important for our communities?
Because stories shape our communities. Stories can heal our communities and offer resolutions. Stories are important because the people are important.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
I am conversational in ASL and would love to be an interpreter someday.
What do you love about libraries?
I love the sense of a collective focused energy libraries offer. I can go there alone and still be energized to get things done just by being around others who are focused.
More about Donte Collins:
Donte is a 21-year-old queer, black poet whose first poem was written at the age of seven about feeling trapped, unheard. Named the first Youth Poet Laureate of Saint Paul, Minnesota, they are the author of Autopsy and winner of the 2016 Most Promising Young Poet Award from the Academy of American Poets. Collins is the recipient of the 2016 Mitchell Prize in Poetry and is currently a junior at Augsburg College. They are an alum of TruArtSpeaks, a non-profit arts organization based out of the Twin Cities cultivating literacy, leadership and social justice through the study and application of Hip Hop culture.
See the winners announced live at the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony!
