Lauren K. Alleyne


Lauren K. Alleyne is a Trinidadian American poet, fiction and nonfiction writer, and educator born and raised in the dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
WWW laurenkalleyne.com

Biography

In 1997, Alleyne moved to the United States to begin her undergraduate studies in Radiologic Science and Nuclear Medical Technology at St. Francis College in New York. It was not until her junior year that she decided to shift her focus towards English, then graduated with honors from St. Francis College with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. In 2002, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing from Iowa State. Finally, in January 2006, she received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, as well as a graduate certificate in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality studies from Cornell University.
Alleyne is also a graduate of Cave Canem, a non-profit literary service organization with administrative and programming headquarters that works to promote and advance under-represented African-American poets in the literary world, and to provide an environment that fosters the growth of African-American voices and artistry. In addition to serving her talents in the literary community, Alleyne also worked as the Poet-in-Residence and as an Assistant Professor in English at the University of Dubuque in Iowa. Currently, Alleyne works as a Professor in English, and the Executive Director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, founded by Dr. Joanne V. Gabbin, at James Madison University in Virginia. Alleyne serves as editor-in-chief of Furious Flower's literary journal,, and in 2024, she convened the fourth decennial . Alleyne is a member of the Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Alleyne's poems and articles have appeared in several literary journals, including,, , ''Affilia, Small Axe Project, and Women's Studies Quarterly, and in anthologies such as Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade and Let Spirit Speak! Cultural Journeys Through the African Diaspora''.

Awards and accolades

Alleyne has received many awards and accolades, including the following:

Publications

Books

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Selections available online

Short stories available online

Collaborations

Collaboration with Matthew Fisher, Intermission Museum
Collaboration with LyricFest
Collaboration with Catherine Chung, Tomiko Jones, Sidney Boquiren, Amy Ressler