Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

At the age of seven, Natasha Anastasia Tarpley began to write alongside her aspiring writer-mother. While a sophomore in high school, the Chicago native began to gather publication credits for her poetry. At Harvard University, Tarpley enrolled in her first writing workshop…long after a love of the written word was already in her blood.

As a result of experiences she underwent while matriculating, Tarpley changed her major from German (which she had studied since second grade) to African American Studies. It was then that she began to write a series of poems which would later garner two fellowships, including the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. (read more about Natasha at The Brown Bookshelf