Safiya Henderson-Holmes (1950-2001) was an African-American poet from New York. She published two collections of poetry, had her work included in multiple anthologies, and received the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. Henderson-Holmes was actively involved in initiatives such as Poets and Writers, Art Against Apartheid, and the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. Between 1982 and 1992, she received two Goodman City College Awards and a MacDowell Fellowship. In 1983, she was recipient of a Northstar Grant and a New York CAPS Poetry Fellowship. In 1990, Henderson-Holmes received the William Carlos Williams Award for her first collection of poems, titled Madness and a Bit of Hope. The collection, like much of Henderson-Holmes' work, focused on exploring "the political realities in the lives of women." She published her second book of poetry in 1994, called Daily Bread. In 1999, Henderson-Holmes received a fellowship from the New York Foundation of the Arts, but this award was followed soon after by a diagnosis of cancer. She developed a series of poetic narratives about her diagnosis and subsequent treatment, calling this poetic cycle "C-ing Colors." Henderson-Holmes said that cancer made her feel "diminished," and that "in order to outlive this disease, I needed more of me — not less — more weight, more desire," which prompted her to write more poetry.
Safiya Henderson-Holmes
Studios
Garland
Safiya Henderson-Holmes worked in the Garland studio.
Marian MacDowell and friends originally named this studio in memory of Anna Baetz, the nurse who helped care for Edward MacDowell in the waning years of his life. With generous support from the Garland family, the studio was renovated in 2013 and renamed the Peter and Mary Garland Studio. The inward opening, diamond-pane windows were replaced…