Ariana Brown

Ariana Brown (born in San Antonio, Texas) is an American spoken word poet. In 2014, she was part of a winning team at the national collegiate poetry slam. Ariana Brown has won the “Best Poet” award twice at the same event.

She is also a two-time recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize.

Early life and education Brown was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her father was a Black American and her mother is Mexican-American. Brown identifies as a Black Mexican American person. Growing up, Brown struggled to find representations of herself in literature, so she decided to write poetry for young women who experienced similar struggles of identity and representation. She was also inspired by Black movement leaders, including Malcolm X. In 2011, she was a part of her first poetry slam team called the Spitshine Slam which she was in charge of cofounding and they performed at Brave New Voices. In 2014 they ranked first in College Unions Poetry Slam International (CUPSI).

Brown writes poetry to uplift Black people and pay homage to her ancestors and the history of her people. Brown has been dubbed a "part-time curandera" because her poetry deals with healing issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation. Jonathan Cortez, a Ph.D. recipient from the Department of American Studies at Brown University, describes the book's title as a “call to action, a demand, a recognition, a reparation, a reorientation, and a reclamation”. Ali Black, a writer and poet based in Cleveland, Ohio, describes this collection as untraditional, as it combines poems, epigraphs, and “Brown’s college course notes from 2014 and 2015,” giving it the feel of both a diary and a history book. For that reason, she dedicates several poems to Yanga, including "Letter to Yanga, from Six-Year-Old Ariana", where she requests that Yanga send her an image of himself. Brown also reflects on her study abroad experience in Mexico City, where she was the only Black person on the trip. In Mexico City, she felt a sense of alienation from Latino culture due to the marginalization of Afro-Latinos and her difficulty engaging with the culture. ” Brown expresses that this book is a reflection of her writing towards healing.

Her work has been featured in PBS, Huffington Post, Blavity, For Harriet, and Remezcla among others.

Personal life Ariana Brown, a Black Mexican American poet, has openly discussed her complex relationship with identity and representation in her personal life. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, she is the daughter of an African American father and a Mexican American mother. Her experiences as a queer, Blaxican woman have heavily influenced her work, as she uses poetry to explore themes of racial identity, cultural politics, and the erasure of Blackness within Mexican communities.

Brown's deep interest in lineage and history stems from her father dying before she was born, leading her to reflect on her heritage and the significance of ancestral connections. This focus on identity is evident in much of her work, including her debut chapbook Sana Sana and her poetry collection We Are Owed. Her poetry often addresses the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender, and she speaks candidly about the challenges of finding her place in both Black and Latinx communities.

In addition to her literary pursuits, Brown is a part-time curandera, which reflects her focus on healing in her writing. She incorporates themes of emotional and spiritual healing, drawing from her experiences in poetry slams and her evolving understanding of history and identity. Recipient of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, San Antonio Artist Grant (2019)

Works

We Are Owed., Grieveland, July 2021. Sana Sana (debut poetry chapbook), Game Over Books, January 2020 “quaker blake” Barrelhouse Magazine, December 9, 2018 “Alternate Memory, or Love Dances Barefoot After the Men Have Disappeared” Barrelhouse Magazine, December 9, 2018 “In Defense of Santana’s ‘Maria Maria,’ Featuring Wyclef & the Product G&B” Rattle, January 29, 2018 “Minute Fathers” Sidekick Lit, Issue Four “A Division of Gods” Winter Tangerine, 2017 “Abuela, de Carrizo Springs” As/Us, September 17, 2017 “Supremacy” Muzzle, June 2017 “Nylon, Black, ‘72” BOAAT “At the End of the Sword” Neptantla, Issue 3 “Always, There is Music” African Voices, July 8, 2016

“Invocation” & “Sunday Morning” HEArt Online, April 4, 2016 “Ossuary” Rattle: Poets Respond, October 25, 2015