Fellowships ///

Beyond Baroque supports writers through fellowships and prizes that provide material support, recognition, public opportunity, and deeper engagement with our literary community.

Current Fellowships

Linda J. Albertano Fellowship

The Linda J. Albertano Fellowship honors the life and legacy of Linda J. Albertano, the late poet and legendary performance artist who remained closely connected to the Beyond Baroque community throughout her career. 

Established in her memory, the fellowship supports emerging women and non-binary poets in Southern California interested in developing their artistic practice, and committed to Albertano’s spirit of experimentation. 

Fellowship Includes

  • $1,000 in Beyond Baroque workshop credits, valid for two years

  • the opportunity to read at Beyond Baroque

  • the opportunity to curate a reading or performance event, with project support

Eligibility

Open to Southern California-based emerging women and non-binary poets. Applicants may have published no more than one book of poetry at the time of selection.

Application

Application deadlines, guidelines, and submission instructions will be posted here when the fellowship is open.

About Linda J. Albertano

Linda J. Albertano was an acclaimed performance artist who appeared on more than a dozen spoken-word albums including her solo CD, Skin. From 1980 onward, she unleashed her vocabulary at countless language meccas in Europe as well as America, at venues including the John Anson Ford Theater, Lollapalooza, and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. She was among those representing Los Angeles at the One World Poetry Fest in Amsterdam and also performed in London and Edinburgh. Selected by the Los Angeles Theatre Center, she unveiled a full-length original work, Joan of Compton, complete with poets, dancers, and a 30-piece marching band from South Central Los Angeles. For the Santa Monica Arts Council, she mounted Calisaladia—a condensed history of California—with a large multicultural cast on the beach in Ocean Park. With Anne Waldman, Lewis MacAdams, and others, Albertano presented at Allen Ginsberg’s Memorial at the Wadsworth Theater. She’s featured on the Venice Poetry Monument with such local notables as Wanda Coleman and Charles Bukowski. In the new millennium, she studied West African music and instruments with traditional masters in Conakry, Guinea, returning to perform in Los Angeles for more than a decade, including at The Getty, Royce Hall, California Plaza, and the World Festival of Sacred Music, with kora (West African harp) virtuoso Prince Diabate.

Current Prizes

Amanda Gorman Future Voices Poetry Prize

Named for Amanda Gorman, the youngest presidential inaugural poet in American history and a Beyond Baroque alumna, the Amanda Gorman Future Voices Poetry Prize supports student poets of color in the development of their voices and artistic practice. As a teenager, Gorman began her growth as a poet in Beyond Baroque’s Student Poets’ Program, and later credited Beyond Baroque as the place “where a young poet found the love of her life.”

Please check back for future application information.

Support Beyond Baroque