Shauna Barbosa


Shauna Barbosa is the author of the poetry collection Cape Verdean Blues. She was a finalist for PEN America’s 2019 Open Book Award and was a 2018 Disquiet International Luso-American fellow.

Early life

Barbosa was born to an African-American mother and Cape Verdean father, and grew up in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents met working at Polaroid. She has four siblings.
At age 15, she worked at the Funky Fresh music store in Boston, which fostered her love of music and mixtapes. In high school, she reviewed albums for her school paper. Later, she worked as an intern at Vibe Magazine.

Life and work

Barbosa received her MFA from Bennington College in Vermont and currently resides in Los Angeles, California where she teaches Creative Writing in the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, AGNI, Iowa Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Boulevard, Poetry Society of America, PBS Newshour, Lit Hub, Lenny Letter, and others.
She cites the writers Camonghne Felix, Lucille Clifton, Ariana Reines, Patricia Smith, Dean Young, Anne Sexton, Michael Ondaatje, Jorge Barbosa, and Corsino Fortes as inspiration, as well as the lyrics of Juvenile, Nas, Frank Ocean, Amy Winehouse and Andre 3000.
;Cape Verdean Blues
Barbosa's poetry collection Cape Verdean Blues was published in 2018. In their review, Publishers Weekly said, "In her strong debut, Barbosa delves into how the nuances of identity are formed through intersecting struggles. She characterizes identity as mutable, flexible, and a means to keep the memories that shape a person. Writing of her Cape Verdean upbringing in Boston, Barbosa investigates what it means to be a woman of color and a cultural other."
Kendrick Lamar praised the book, saying, "These words feel like experiences. Some are personal, most are enlightening, but all connect. Connect on a higher level. A spiritual level."
Lit Hub named it one of their favorite books of 2018.
The book is named after the jazz musician Horace Silver's 1966 album The Cape Verdean Blues.

Poetry

;Collections
;List of poems
TitleYearFirst publishedReprinted/collected
What is a diagnosis to a demon2020
And I Know That She Feels Beautiful The Bad Penny Review
33 The Bad Penny Review
GPS The Bad Penny Review
Simone Sundog Lit
Deniz2014 PANK. 9.6. June 2014
Your Eyes Blink Five-Minute Miles“Your Eyes Blink Five-Minute Miles”. The Minnesota Review
re the dentist and his new family2015 The Awl. April 30, 2015
Big Sun Coming Strong Through the Motel Blinds2016 No Tokens Journal. August 30, 2016
Tone's Posture"Tone's Posture". Some Mark Made
Flush Past the Ferry"Flush Past the Ferry". Some Mark Made
Self on the First Date"Self on the First Date". The Atlas ReviewCity of Notions: An Anthology of Contemporary Boston Poets
When I Say I Want a Baby2016 The Colorado Review
Let"Let". Boulevard Magazinefeatured in the Mass Poetry Raining Poetry Project
as well as displayed at Boston City Hall as part of the Mayor’s Office of Arts + Culture Initiative
Broke"Broke". Boulevard Magazine
Something African With a K"Something African With a K". RHINO Poetry
Liberation2017 Virginia Quarterly Review. Summer 2017
Strology Taurus2017 Lenny Letter. December 26, 2017Cape Verdean Blues
Strology Scorpio2017 Lenny Letter. December 26, 2017Cape Verdean Blues
Every Year Trying to Get My Body Right2017 Lenny Letter. December 26, 2017Cape Verdean Blues
Strology Aries FoundryCape Verdean Blues
To the Brothers of Cesária Évora2018 Lit Hub. March 12, 2018Cape Verdean Blues
This Won’t Make Sense in English
lénsu-marra		2018
Lit Hub. March 12, 2018		Cape Verdean Blues
Strology Gemini2018 Lit Hub. March 12, 2018Cape Verdean Blues
Small Town & Terrifying2018. Lit Hub. March 12, 2018Cape Verdean Blues
The Genetics of Leaving2018 PBS. March 12, 2018Cape Verdean Blues
Strology Virgo WILDNESSCape Verdean Blues
Strology Capricorn WILDNESSCape Verdean Blues
You Will, Indeed, Always Be the Same Person After Vacation Tupelo Quarterly
Taking Over for the '99 and the 2000 Poetry Society of America
Dancing Makes Me Desperate"Dancing Makes Me Desperate". The Southeast Review
Not Crazy Just Afraid to Ask2019 Iowa Review. April 15, 2019
Blossom2019 Iowa Review. April 15, 2019
WhatsApp Message Analysis and Response"WhatsApp Message Analysis and Response". AGNI
The Internet"The Internet". Ploughshares
Aloe"Aloe". Redivider
I Look at Everyone Like This"I Look at Everyone Like This". Redivider
It's Raining in LA What Else I'm Pose to Do"It's Raining in LA What Else I'm Pose to Do". THE COMMON