Sandra & Gary Sojka Poet-in-Residence
For 40 years, the Stadler Center's Poet-in-Residence program has brought poets of national and international renown to Bucknell for an extended stay during the academic year. The Poet-in-Residence meets individually with qualified students and presents a public reading, a Q&A session, and a craft workshop. The program is meant to honor the achievement of a distinguished poet while providing undergraduate writers the opportunity to work with an exceptional talent.
Recently redesignated to honor longtime Stadler Center benefactors Sandra and Gary Sojka, the current program represents a merger of the Sojka Visiting Poet Series (1995-2020) and the original Poet-in-Residence program, which dates back to 1981. Bucknell President Gary Sojka (1985-95) was instrumental in the founding of the center and, with his wife Sandy, remains dedicated to its prosperity.
Among our recent Poets-in-Residence are Mark Doty, Terrance Hayes, Brenda Hillman, Claudia Rankine, Mary Ruefle and Ross Gay. See below for a complete list of Poets-in-Residence and Sojka Visiting Poets.
The Sojka Poet-in-Residence is selected by invitation only; the Stadler Center does not accept applications for this position.
2024-25 Sojka Poet-in-Residence
Danez Smith
Danez Smith is the author of three collections including Homie and Don't Call Us Dead. They have won the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and have been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critic Circle Award, and the National Book Award. Danez's poetry and prose has been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Best American Poetry and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Danez is a member of the Dark Noise Collective. Former co-host of the Webby nominated podcast VS (Versus), they are the recipient of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, Princeton, United States Artists, the McKnight Foundation, the Montalvo Arts Center, Cave Canem, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Danez has been featured as part of Forbes' annual 30 Under 30 list and is the winner of a Pushcart Prize. They live in Minneapolis near their people.