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Golden (poet)

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Golden
Occupation
  • Poet
  • artist
EducationNew York University (BFA)
Notable works
  • A Dead Name That Learned How to Live
  • Reprise
Notable awards

Golden is a gender-nonconforming American poet and artist who uses they/them pronouns.[1][2] Their poetry collections A Dead Name That Learned How to Live and Reprise were finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry in 2023 and 2026.[3][4]

Early life and education

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Golden was raised in Hampton, Virginia.[5][6] They hold a BFA in photography and imaging from New York University.[5] Golden moved to Boston in 2018.[7]

Career

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Poetry

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Golden's debut poetry collection, A Dead Name That Learned How to Live, was published by Game Over Books in 2022.[5] WBUR reported that the book grew out of Golden's NYU thesis project of the same name and examined family history and personal identity.[5] In In These Times, Sherell Barbee interviewed Golden about the book in relation to photography, family, place, and gender.[1] The collection was a finalist for the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry.[3]

Golden's second collection, Reprise: Poems and Photographs, was published by Haymarket Books in 2025.[8] It was a finalist for the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry.[4]

Photography and visual art

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Golden's visual work includes portraiture, self-portraiture, and images made with family archives.[5][6] Their photographic series On Learning How to Live was a finalist for the 2021 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture.[9]

Golden was a Neighborhood Salon Luminaries fellow at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.[10] In In These Times, Golden said that a later Gardner Museum commission responded to Boston's Apollo, an exhibition about John Singer Sargent and Thomas McKeller.[1]

From 2020 to 2021, Golden was a Boston Artist-in-Residence.[11] During the residency, they proposed a public mural honoring Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman from Allston. The City of Boston commissioned artist Rixy to create the mural, Rita's Spotlight, which was installed in 2022.[12] In 2023, Golden's exhibition I'm Never Alone was shown at Brookline Arts Center's Beacon Street Gallery.[6]

Works

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Poetry collections

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  • A Dead Name That Learned How to Live. Game Over Books, 2022.[13][5]
  • Reprise: Poems and Photographs. Haymarket Books, 2025.[8][14]

Selected art

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  • On Learning How to Live, photographic series.[9]
  • I'm Never Alone, exhibition, Brookline Arts Center, 2023–2024.[6]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Barbee, Sherell (December 5, 2022). "Golden on Learning How to Live as a Black, Queer and Trans Artist from the South". In These Times. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  2. ^ "Golden". Golden. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Announcing the 35th Annual Lammy Awards Finalists". Lambda Literary. March 20, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Announcing the Finalists for the 38th Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. March 18, 2026. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Ouellette, Katherine (October 14, 2022). "Poet Golden's debut collection explores family history and personal identity". WBUR. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d Hamilton, Colleen (January 11, 2024). "Golden's Revolutionary Portraits of Black Family Life". Them. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  7. ^ Reynolds, Aidan (December 22, 2025). "6 Boston writers share their go-to bars, cafes and restaurants". WBUR. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Reprise". Haymarket Books. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  9. ^ a b "2021 Arnold Newman Prize Winners". Maine Media Workshops + College. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  10. ^ "Golden". Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  11. ^ "Boston Artists-in-Residence (AIR)". Boston.gov. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  12. ^ "'Rita's Spotlight' by Rixy". Boston.gov. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  13. ^ "A Dead Name That Learned How to Live — Golden". Game Over Books. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  14. ^ "2025 National Poetry Month Reading List". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
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