On August 6th, The Academy of American Poets awarded $50,000, each, to twenty-two Poet Laureate Fellows, including IC Writing's own nicole v basta ('10), the current Poet Laureate of Tompkins County, New York.
The Academy's selective fellowships recognize "laureates’ literary excellence while enabling them to undertake meaningful and innovative projects that enrich the lives of community members, including youth, through responsive and interactive poetry activities."
In their announcement, the Academy of American Poets describes nicole v basta and her work:
Project Description
nicole v basta will lead poetry workshops with adult and teen community members. Participants will engage with the topic of water, the history of local waterways, particularly Cayuga Lake, and the very present and pressing environmental threats to the region’s water and environment, including the potential impact of a planned artificial intelligence data center on Cayuga Lake’s east shore. These workshops will culminate in the publication of an anthology of poems written by the community and printed by a local press, with cover art by a local artist. Its publication will be celebrated with a reading, book launch, and large community gathering. Funds raised through the sale of the anthology will support efforts to stop the TeraWulf data center from being built on Cayuga Lake and also go toward an environmental organization focused on education. This project will aim to gather community members of diverse backgrounds, both from the urban part of Tompkins County and rural areas, as well as those from the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ (Cayuga Nation) diaspora, with the aim of reimagining the possibilities of poetry and conceptualizing new futures that recenter the environment.
About nicole v basta
nicole v basta is a poet, community educator, arts events producer, and visual artist.She is the author of the chapbooks V, selected by Rigoberto González as the winner of The New School’s annual contest, and the next field over (Tolsun Books, 2022). Her poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Ploughshares and the Best New Poets anthology.Her work has been supported by numerous organizations, including Art Farm Nebraska, Monson Arts, Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, and Terra Cultura. In 2025, Basta was appointed the poet laureate of Tompkins County, New York.