Diannely Antigua, English
Image by Tony Ochoa
It was at UML that I first considered myself a writer, a poet even.
The debut collection of Dominican American poet Diannely Antigua ’12 was released in May, and promptly won the Pamet River Prize.
"Ugly Music" was published by YesYes Books out of Portland, Ore.
“It’s exciting to see decades of writing culminating in this moment: my first book,” she says. “It’s the stuff of dreams and nightmares, thinking of all the work, the words and even the tears that have gone into making this book possible.”
Some of that work and those tears happened at UMass Lowell, where Antigua, recipient of the Jack Kerouac Creative Writing Scholarship, earned her B.A.
“It was at UML that I first considered myself a writer, a poet even,” she says. “My professors Maggie Dietz and Andre Dubus III believed in my gift before I did. And for that, I’m truly grateful.”
Antigua went on to earn an M.F.A. at New York University, where she was awarded a Global Research Initiative Fellowship to Florence, Italy. She received additional fellowships from CantoMundo, Community of Writers and the Fine Arts Work Center Summer Program. Her work has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, and currently living in West Newbury, Antigua says her “heart is in Brooklyn.”