Kimberly O'Connor

One of the most remarkable things to me about our current moment in history is the lack of clear speaking out against attacks on “DEI,” which is at its core an attack on minorities, women, and LGBTQ people, especially trans people. The same companies and institutions that were all about Black Lives Matter and Me Too are quiet now. I’m especially concerned that universities are so quiet. I certainly don’t think that universities should (or do) have a “woke agenda,” but I also think that American history happened and students should be free to read, talk, and think about it. I say, let DOGE shut down universities and let the country deal with the effects! Of course, I am a mere adjunct, not a university administrator. But at some point–and maybe we’re not there yet–do you have any core beliefs around academic freedom? Or not?

Anyway, one place I wanted to showcase today is Tupelo Press. It’s a press I’ve long admired. A few weeks ago, they sent this email, which I am copying here in full:

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Dear Kimberly O’Connor,

Many of you have asked about the appalling new NEA guidelines for literature grants (click here to view link). Tupelo Press takes the strongest possible stand against:

• “The applicant will not operate any programs promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) in accordance with Executive Order No. 14173.” — NO!
• “The applicant understands that federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology, pursuant to Executive Order No. 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” — NO!
• Applications must be built around or feature some aspect of American triumphalism (“Funding priority will be given for projects that celebrate and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”) — NO!
• All applicants are required to sign a “Certificate of Compliance,” including Draconian reprisals for failing to comply with “all Executive Orders.” — NO!

Under no circumstances will we suspend our DEI based writing fellowships at Gentle House in Port Angeles, WA; 

Under no circumstances will we be dissuaded from building our Spring 2026 list around (a) Jennifer Jean’s dual-language (Arabic/English) anthology of Arab women’s poetry, (b) Naoko Fujimoto’s anthology of Classical Japanese women’s Waka poetry in translation, (c) Ming Holden’s “Fire Alarm,” (d) Avia Tadmor’s “Song in Tammuz,” (e) Preeti Parikh’s “Blue Selvage,” (f) Ángel Garcia’s “Indifferent Cities,” (g) Diana Cao’s “Slipstream,” (h) Stelios Momoris’s “Perishable,” along with six additional, equally important titles.

For 25 years, Tupelo Press has been devoted to widening the audience for contemporary poetry and literary prose by emerging and established writers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including, especially, women and writers of color, the LGBTQ, immigrant, and Native American communities. We aim to develop wider audiences for, and deeper understanding of, innovative, multi-cultural writing by essential participants in this conversation. 

If our position means no more NEA grants for Tupelo Press, so be it. To act otherwise would be immoral.

Meanwhile, our heart goes out to the dedicated professional staff at the NEA for having to put up with this crap.

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Thank you, Tupelo Press, for being a moral sentinel: a sounding bell for what’s right.

On a related note, in May, I’ll be participating in Tupelo’s 30/30 project. I’ll be writing 30 poems, a poem a day. I’ll share more info as we draw closer to May!