Kinsale Drake
- Dec 22, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 21
Kinsale Drake has earned national recognition as one of the leading Diné poets of her generation, with awards that highlight both her literary artistry and cultural advocacy. Her debut collection, The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket, won the 2023 National Poetry Series, while the Adroit Prize for Poetry and Aspen Institute Emerging Writer Fellowship further cemented her place in contemporary literature. Earlier honors, including the Joy Harjo Poetry Award, the Young Native Playwrights Award, and her appointment as a National Student Poet, mark a career defined by consistent achievement from an early age. Drake’s body of recognition not only elevates her own voice but also brings Indigenous storytelling into the center of American literature, securing her reputation as one of today’s most influential writers.
Kinsale Drake: Award-Winning Diné Poet Redefining Contemporary Indigenous Literature
Kinsale Drake, a Diné poet, editor, and playwright, has emerged as one of the most dynamic young voices in contemporary poetry. Her work has appeared across leading literary and cultural platforms, including Poetry, Best New Poets, Poets.org, Poetry Northwest, The Adroit Journal, TIME, NPR, and MTV. Her debut collection, The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket (University of Georgia Press, 2024), won the 2023 National Poetry Series, a distinction that placed her among the most compelling writers of her generation.
Her achievements began early. From 2017 to 2018, Drake was named a National Student Poet, one of the highest honors for young writers in the United States, presented by the Library of Congress and the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities. She earned three national gold medals from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and performed her poetry at the Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall, and the Aspen Ideas Festival before she turned twenty. By 2018, she was also leading workshops at Sherman Indian School in Riverside, California, and later served as a Scholastic Awards judge, shaping opportunities for the next generation of student writers.
A Yale University graduate with dual degrees in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and English (2022), Drake distinguished herself with an array of honors: the Susan O’Connor Award, Mellon Mays and Richter Fund fellowships, the J. Edgar Meeker Prize, and the Academy of American Poets Prize. She was awarded the Young Native Playwrights Award, a Bucknell June Poets Fellowship, and selected as an inaugural Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow. Since 2022, she has served as guest faculty for the Emerging Diné Writers Institute at Navajo Technical University, investing in the mentorship of Indigenous literary voices.
Drake’s advocacy extends beyond her own writing. She edited the Changing Wxman Collective and founded the NDN Girls Book Club, a nonprofit committed to amplifying Indigenous literature and offering free literary programming for Native youth. Her recent honors include the 2023 Adroit Prize for Poetry, the Joy Harjo Poetry Award, and the Aspen Institute Poetry Fellowship. She has returned to Carnegie Hall as a performer in both 2018 and 2023. Her cultural influence has been recognized widely, from Yahoo! In The Know Changemakers (2022) to The Sunday Paper’s Changemakers list (2023), and TIME’s “People Changing How We See the World,” curated by Ava DuVernay.
Through her work on the page and in the community, Kinsale Drake bridges tradition and innovation, amplifying Indigenous narratives while forging new spaces for underrepresented voices. Her career reflects both literary accomplishment and a sustained commitment to advocacy, marking her as a writer whose influence extends far beyond poetry.
For more on her debut book of poetry, read more at: Beneath the Stars: Kinsale Drake’s Journey Through Heritage and Survival in "The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket."
Academic and Professional Achievements
Kinsale Drake graduated from Yale University in 2022 with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration. During her time there, she received multiple honors, including the Susan O’Connor Award, the J. Edgar Meeker Prize, and the Academy of American Poets College Prize, recognition that underscored her academic rigor and literary talent.
Beyond the classroom, Drake has carved a path as both a cultural advocate and educator. She serves as the director of the NDN Girls Book Club, a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying Indigenous literature and providing free literary programming to Native youth. Since 2022, she has also been a guest faculty member at the Emerging Diné Writers Institute at Navajo Technical University, mentoring the next generation of Indigenous writers.
Her influence has been widely recognized in national media. TIME included her in its feature “34 People Changing How We See Our World” (2019), while Yahoo! named her an “In the Know” Changemaker in 2021. She has also been profiled in Nylon, where she discussed her work at the intersection of activism, poetry, and identity.
Drake has extended her storytelling into audiobook narration, voicing acclaimed works such as Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe (2020) and A Snake Falls to Earth (2021), as well as Rebecca Roanhorse’s Race to the Sun (2020). She also contributed to The Cursed Carnival & Other Calamities (2021), further broadening her reach to younger audiences.
Her performances add yet another dimension to her career. In June 2023, Drake performed her poetry at Carnegie Hall, cementing her place not only as a writer on the page but also as a commanding voice on stage.
Published Works
Kinsale Drake’s literary output reflects both her academic excellence and her growing reputation as a poet of national significance. Her debut collection, The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket (University of Georgia Press, 2024), selected as a winner of the 2023 National Poetry Series, established her as a writer whose work resonates across generations.
She has also published Hummingbird Heart (Abalone Mountain Press, 2022), a zine blending poetry and illustrations that showcases her ability to merge text and visual art. Drake’s poems appear in widely read anthologies, including New World Coming (Torrey House Press, 2021) and The Languages of Our Love (Abalone Mountain Press, 2022), works that situate her voice alongside other emerging Indigenous writers and highlight her role in shaping contemporary Native literature.
Her individual poems have been featured in respected journals and magazines, further cementing her literary presence. Among them are “Navajo-English Dictionary” in Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts, “Sound of Under-Water” in The Adroit Journal, and “Put on that KTNN” in PoetrySnaps! Each piece reflects her ongoing exploration of Diné identity, cultural memory, and the layered intersections of language.
Additional Awards and Honors
Kinsale Drake’s career has been marked by a steady accumulation of accolades that highlight both her artistic brilliance and her role as a cultural trailblazer. From early recognition as a teenager to prestigious national fellowships, her honors reflect the breadth of her talent and the impact of her voice in contemporary poetry and drama. Each award underscores her commitment to telling stories rooted in Diné identity while engaging universal questions of resilience, heritage, and belonging.
2023 National Poetry Series for The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket
2023 Adroit Journal Prize for Poetry
2023 Aspen Institute Emerging Writer Fellowship for Poetry
2023 Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship Finalist
2022 Joy Harjo Poetry Award for Navajo-English Dictionary
2022 Young Native Playwrights Award for As It Has Always Been
2022 Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po) Inaugural Fellowship
2017 National Student Poet representing the West
Together, these honors map a trajectory of artistic excellence, beginning with national recognition as a student poet and culminating in fellowships and prizes that place her at the forefront of American letters. They illustrate not only the literary community’s embrace of her work but also the growing recognition of Indigenous storytelling as an essential force in shaping the future of literature.
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