Camonghne Felix (pronounced ; born 1992) is an American writer, poet, and communications strategist. Her debut poetry collection, Build Yourself a Boat, was longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award. Felix is a professor of writing at The New School.
Career
Poetry Felix received her MFA from Bard College and was mentored by Mahogany L. Browne.
Felix participated in the national poetry slam Brave New Voices and was featured in the festival's 2010 HBO series. She published her first chapbook, Yolk, in 2015. Her poetry was included in the 2018 anthology The Breakbeat Poets Volume 2: Black Girl Magic.
Felix's debut poetry collection, Build Yourself a Boat, was released in April 2019 by Haymarket Books. The poems cover topics such as sexual assault, abortion, and politics. Ian Hogdson of South Side Weekly described it as "an impressive first collection."
Glamour featured a poem Felix wrote and performed in honor of Breonna Taylor in the magazine's 2020 Women of the Year film.
Communications work Felix worked as the head of racial justice initiatives at DoSomething in 2015. According to The Verge, she was fired after a meeting in which she suggested that the organization invest in Black communities after the murders of the Charleston Nine.
Felix previously worked as a senior manager of communications at Ms.. In 2019, she was the communications director for the campaign of Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. The following year, she was hired as director of surrogates and strategic communications for Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign. In 2020, she was a vice president of communications at Blue State, a digital strategy firm.
Personal life Felix was raised in The Bronx, New York. She is queer.
Awards
Literary awards Year Title Award Category Result Ref. 2019 Build Yourself a Boat National Book Award Poetry 2020 Lambda Literary Awards Bisexual Poetry PEN Open Book Award —
Other honors 2019: Out 100 2020: Women of the Year honoree, Glamour
Bibliography
Books Type Title Year Publisher Identifier Novels Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation 2023 Penguin Random House Hardcover: Poetry Build Yourself a Boat 2019 Haymarket Books Paperback: Hardcover: Chapbooks Yolk 2010 Penmanship Books
References
External links Camonghne Felix at Poets.org