iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

So invite me to your school (high school/college/university), library, bookstore, or nonprofit/corporate space. Virtual is an option, too. There’s much to be said about poetry, social action, cultural preservation, humanity, and storytelling. www.thomaskneeland.com/speaking

thomaskneeland.com

Bring an Award-Winning Author to Your Community | THOMAS KNEELAND

Thomas Kneeland is an award-winning author, poet, and professor who offers intentional readings, lectures, and interactive workshops designed for audiences including, but not limited to: high schools,...

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

The reality is that I have an entire chapbook that speaks to the necessity of the Black body, its beauty, history, and joy, in the face of an often amnesiac American society. And I’d like to be in conversation about it.

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Prairie Schooner @prairie-schooner.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

With generous supporters of the literary arts, Prairie Schooner was able to award 15 writing prizes totaling $8,250 for work published in 2025. Award winners include @skyskkyy.bsky.social, @thomaskneeland.bsky.social, @ellgpeck.bsky.social, @rebeccaslehmann.bsky.social, and more. go.unl.edu/bfya

Prairie Schooner
Annual Award Winners

Lawrence Foundation Award $2000
Skyler Melnick, "Sisterhood of Dirt," Fall 2025

Virginia Faulkner Awards $500
Morgan Christie, "Sapphire Gurl," Spring 2025
Ben Freedman, "That Summer," Fall 2025

Bernice Slote Award $500
Luca van der Heide, "Halina's Guest House," Fall 2025

Edward Stanley Award $500
Thomas Kneeland, two poems, Fall 2025

Prairie Schooner
Annual Award Winners

Strousse Award $500
Migwi Mwangi, "Like So, Like So," Fall 2025

Ervin and Loretta Krause Freedom of Expression Award $500
Ell Peck, "A Paper Lantern Over the Light: Becoming Blanche DuBois," Fall 2025

Jane Geske Award $250
Carolina Murriel, "Driving My Tías Through Miami," Spring 2025

Hugh J. Luke Award $250
Priyam Goel, "3 White Witches," Winter 2025

Prairie Schooner
Annual Award Winners

First Place Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award $1500
Rebecca Lehmann, seven poems, Spring 2025

Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Awards $500
Fayssal Bensalah, ""Your Son Is with Pollen and Dust," Fall 2025
Virginia Kane, two poems, Winter 2025
Dominic Russ-Combs, "Faith," Winter 2025
George Uba, two poems, Spring 2025
Anthony Yarbrough, "Cruiser," Spring 2025

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Haven’t been here in a while but I am accepting clients for manuscript consultations! ✅ Poem Packets for Journal Submissions ✅ Chapbook Length Manuscripts ✅ Full-length Manuscripts Visit thomaskneeland.com/contact to inquire!

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

So not only is Cienfuegos looking for a home, but I’m also looking to read with other poets and writers who are in conversation about ancestry, ecological memory, and their relationships to intergenerational trauma as we navigate a society hellbent on convincing us that our stories don’t matter.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

& now, two poems included here are going to be in the Prairie Schooner at a time when preservation of memory is so important. Gratitude is a continuous outpour in this season of life & I wouldn’t be here without God’s grace, protection & the village he’s assigned to my life to love me.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

▪️a heightened confidence to reclaim an identity I never knew was a part of me (thank you, Patrick A.) ▪️reimagining the ancestors who found their way to the states and established a family that would become my inheritance (thank you Jaquira D.)

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Speaking of histories & roadmaps & humanity: This is my completed manuscript. Almost 100 pages of poems dedicated to: ▪️a better understanding of my identity, its multitudes, and the memory that is passed from generation to generation (thank you Monica Jo);

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

But this creative writing space also allows me to be a better professor, to brilliant students who deserve to know the histories—no matter how uncomfortable—that contribute to their existence, so that they can make their own, responsible & healthy conclusions on how to use humanity for veritas.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Creative Writing: It is one of the reasons why God has placed me on this earth, and I stand by that 100%. The words I write enter spaces I’ve only dreamed of (but will one day reach, myself), and they’re creating a roadmap—a narrative—for my daughter to follow one day.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Poets have always been the bearers of truth. We don't do this for fun. open.substack.com/pub/thomaskn...

open.substack.com

Seventh Sermon on the Warpland

for carrying the torch through the darkest times

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

That's definitely me right now. I'm learning so much about where I come from just by filling each page with a poem...or maybe it's CNF/Poetry/Memoir/Fiction. Idk, but I like it.

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Anna Vangala Jones @anniejowrites.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

writing is the best. one minute there’s a blank page & the next there are characters whose dreams, memories, desires, yearning, & heartbreak feel so real

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

It's hard to want to live in this country when the billionaires have all banded together to support the country's biggest threat who seems to be above the law. I'd love for you to follow Thomas Kneeland Poetry on Substack! "de esta américa a la nuestra américa" open.substack.com/pub/thomaskn...

open.substack.com

de esta américa a la nuestra américa

Saying goodbye to what has been my home for the last thirty-three years seems traitorous.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I find it hard to believe that those who find themselves in positions of power (and abuse said power) are ignorant of the meanings behind words like “Diversity” “Equity” and “Inclusion”. I do believe, however, that they choose an arrogant ignorance—perhaps a god complex—because they fear truth.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

You know what else pisses me off? Our bigot/idiot of a governor (state of Indiana) has defunded the ONLY Black University in the state, along with other programs that have historically helped our young learners have the tools they need to succeed and thrive.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

You know what makes me tired beyond belief? Knowing that there are people in this country who claim “Christian values” but have no ounce of empathy unless it feeds capitalist agenda. I watched 47 and 47.1 (and their lil friends) scoff at a religious figure, as she pleaded for their mercy.

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The EDU Ledger @theeduledger.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Our Emerging Scholars + Spring Academic Kickoff edition with stories on Coppin State University, UNCF, anti-racism/anti-oppression in education, and more, is out now! Link to Access: bit.ly/3ZMAfq5 Subscribe to our Newsletters and Magazine: bit.ly/3ZMxZPy

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

It’s an honor to be one of 15 Emerging Scholars. Especially at a time like this, we need all hands on deck (in whatever form that takes) to keep our humanity intact.

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Anna Vangala Jones @anniejowrites.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

a residency where someone teaches you how to sleep & then you wake up well rested with energy to read & write

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Thankful for a good book and hot tea on a cold night like this one. The tag on my tea reads: “In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” — Aristotle Let this be your reminder to remember who you are…You are—we are—truly something of the marvelous. #selfcaretips #poetry

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Hey there! In terms of WIP, I’m putting a decent amount focus on my next manuscript which is an extension of Cienfuegos. It focuses on the voice of my great-great-grandmother (or what i imagine it’d be like) and weaves in ecological memory, ancestry, and intergenerational trauma.

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Arriel Vinson @arriwrites.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Hi everyone! My name is Arriel Vinson and my debut YA novel, UNDER THE NEON LIGHTS, publishes on 6/3/25 with @penguinteen. If you’re looking for a book about: 🛼 first love ✨ female friendship 🛼 building community ✨ complex family dynamics then you’ve found it! 🛼🪩✨ Preorder here: bit.ly/3ZkVG3H

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

And this is why I’m writing about the ancestors I never knew.

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Darling Axe Editing @darlingaxe.com · 13/01/2025

"To survive, you must tell stories." —Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before #writingcommunity #writingquote

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Christoph Fischer Photography @beautysurroundsyou.com · 13/01/2025

After several attempts over a period of 6 years, patience finally paid off. For an all too brief moment, Argentinian Patagonia's vast, breathtaking Perito Moreno glacier is dressed in the most beautiful light! #photography #travel #nature #bluesky #landscapephotography #naturephotography #landscape

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Mx. Prompt - let’s get writing. ✍️ @mxprompt.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Grab something to write with, and something to write on— I’m MxPrompt, and I have your #WritingPrompt for today. (I won’t write it every time, I promise. For now, just say hi and let me know what you write! ✍️)

media.tenor.com

a cartoon of snoopy and woodstock sitting on a red box

ALT: a cartoon of snoopy and woodstock sitting on a red box

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Hi! I’m Thomas, and I write poetry. I’m also taking a dive into CNF/Memoir/Hybrid.

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Margot Mazur @margotmargot.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Hello Bluesky! Excited to be here after the awful Zuck announcement, and happy to be in a Meta-less space. Looking to engage with folks who care about running, how food is grown, why wine is beautiful, and local Maine goings-on.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

You never really forget a love that shows you the purest parts of who you are and what you deserve. #poetry #afrolatinxpoetry #newmanuscript

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Christiana Doucette @doucette515.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

#BlueSkyTip Since BlueSky doesn’t use the sort of algorithms that X and Threads use, content is boosted by reposts, not by likes. If you enjoy something, sharing it is the best way to help others find it. #KidLit #WritingCommunity

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Thank you so much for sharing!! I’m hoping to find a home for my manuscript!

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

And yet, I dive in anyway…because as I’m often reminded, blood carries memory. So I’ll keep pressing toward the answers to my questions. #blackpoetry #afrolatinxpoetry #newworks #excerpts #ancestry #poetrycommunity #newmanuscript #poetry

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all, but there are some times when I don’t feel that I should dive all in because of how late I discovered this history.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Her maternal grandparents were Nigerian and Indigenous American. I’ve always wondered why my ears would “perk up” whenever I’d hear Latin Jazz or any other related genre. What’s more, I’m a musician and those rhythms come naturally to me.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

I want you to imagine how much we don’t know about our own bodies. Now, add that to what we may or may not know about our ancestors. I was thirty-one years old when I learned that my grandmother’s paternal grandparents were Cuban.

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

My finished manuscript, CIENFUEGOS, is currently looking for a home! I’m looking to connect with publishers and editors who have a passion for poetry and championing the stories of Afro-Latinx ancestry and identity. #poetry #blackpoet #literarycommunity #ancestry #afrolatinx

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Sharing a poem here with you tonight: It’s very much a WIP

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I was the 1000th follower! 🤯🤯

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I replenished my stash of shea butter and man….imma be sliding all across this house 😂😂😂😂😂

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Thomas Kneeland @thomaskneeland.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

First Christmas romance movie of the season, at the end of a long day teaching and grading (and working out and cooking) seems like a decent way to calm down for the night.

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Hub City Press @hubcitypress.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Hub City Press is pleased to announce that @paradiselaust.bsky.social will judge the tenth biennial New Southern Voices Poetry Book Prize. The prize will now award an increased advance of $1,500 and publication to the winner. Submissions open on January 1, 2025. www.hubcity.org/news/derrick...

hubcity.org

Derrick Austin will judge tenth New Southern Voices Poetry Book Prize | Hub City Writers Project

Hub City Press is pleased to announce that Derrick Austin will judge the tenth biennial New Southern Voices Poetry Book Prize. The contest will award $1,500 and publication to the winner. Submissions ...

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