My Poetry Corner February 2017 features the poem “The Place of No Dreams” by Lauren K. Alleyne, a Caribbean-American poet born in the twin-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago. She is an Associate Professor of English at James Madison University and Assistant Director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center.

Armed with her dreams and a scholarship from St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, Lauren Alleyne left home in 1997 for New York City. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, she pursued a Masters of Arts in English and Creative Writing at Iowa State University, graduating in 2002. Three years later, while working for her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry), she also earned a Graduate Certificate in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Cornell University.

Her poems and essays, published in several journals and anthologies, have gained several prizes and awards. Her first collection of poetry, Difficult Fruit, was published by Peepal Tree Press in 2014. Continue reading →