Yona Harvey
Poet and Writer
Yona Harvey is the author of You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love, winner of The Believer Book Award in Poetry, and Hemming the Water, winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award from Claremont Graduate University and finalist for the Hurston/Wright Award. Between the publication of her first two poetry books, Harvey co-wrote Marvel Comics’ World of Wakanda, which earned an Eisner Award for best limited series, and co-wrote the comic book series Black Panther & the Crew. Her third poetry collection is forthcoming in September 2026.
Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, The Best American Poetry, Letters to the Future: Black Women/Radical Writing and A Poet’s Craft: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Sharing Your Poetry.
She’s the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Japan Creative Artists Fellowship, the Heinz Foundation’s Carol Brown Award, and the inaugural Lucille Clifton Legacy Award from Saint Mary’s College of Maryland.
Photo Credit: Ocean Vuong
pre-order Leap & Grow Feathers
“Both an instruction and a divination, Leap & Grow Feathers is an extraordinary transmission. In her third full-length collection, Yona Harvey listens — to her predecessors, her instincts, and her environment — gleaning sense from the static fraying our nerves, knowing the personal and the historical travel along the same frequency…”
Official Book Launch & Reception
Sunday Oct 4 2026 @ 3pm
More info: https://cityofasylum.org/
Yona will be in conversation with Dr. Khirsten Scott
Learn more about Khirsten here: https://khirstenlscott.com/
Porter Square Books
Thursday Oct 8 2026 @ 7pm
Reading and conversation with Shara McCallum, Author of Behold. Location: Porter Square Books (1815 Mass Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140) Learn more about Shara here: https://sharamccallum.com/
College of the Holy Cross
Thursday Oct 22 2026 @ 7:30pm
Reading and conversation with Gary Jackson, Author of small lives. Location: College of the Holy Cross. College of the Holy Cross website: https://www.holycross.edu/
Learn more about Gary here: garyallenjackson.com
Publisher’s Weekly Fiction & Nonfiction Preview: Poetry
Yona Harvey Recommends …
pw.org
10 Black Poets of Past and Present Who Deserve Unending Recognition for Their Work
Well + Good
Artists Offer New Maps of Pittsburgh’s Soul
wesa.fm
A Pioneer in the Literary World of ‘Black Panther’
DiverseEducation.com
Walks in Wakanda: The Black Panther in Comics and Culture
YouTube
Lives of A Poet
PITT Magazine
Women Writers of Color: Yona Harvey
therumpus.net
contact
Yona can be retained as a speaker, reader, or workshop facilitator through her contact form. Inquiries on publications, writings, poems and writing comics are appreciated and emails will be answered as her schedule permits. Email: tallflowerstudios [at] gmail.com.
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