ALEXANDRIA, VA-This morning (April 2) Alexandria announced its new Poet Laureate in an eNews bulletin. Cristina “Cristi” Donoso has been chosen to succeed Zeina Azzam.
Her first official appearance will be leading Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 24, at the Athenaeum.
Born in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, Donoso’s verse has appeared in numerous poetry publications, such as The Cincinnati Review and The Threepenny Review. She is a former PEN/Faulkner Writer in Residence and a past editor of Folio Literary Journal.
Topics in her work range from migration and grief to girlhood and motherhood. Last year she was a finalist for the Akron Poetry Prize and the Gatewood Prize.
Donoso also works as a literary editor and translator.
Outside of her work as a writer, she has 14 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist. She holds a B.A. in French Language and Literature and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Virginia, as well as a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Gallaudet University. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from American University.
Each person selected as the city’s Poet Laureate completes a three-year term. Established in 2007, the program has multiple purposes: to promote reading all genres of literature, encourage the exploration of creative writing, and promote literacy with poetry.
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