LATORIAL FAISON is a Virginia poet, author, English professor, veteran military spouse, and mother whose forthcoming book, Nursery Rhymes in Black (University of Alaska Press, 2024) won the 2023 Permafrost Poetry Prize. She completed a BA in English at UVA, the MA in English at VA TECH, and a doctoral degree in Education at Virginia State University. Faison has completed education history research, The Missed Education of the Negro: An Examination of the Black Segregated Education Experience in Southampton County, and various poetry collections, including Mother to Son, the 28 Days of Poetry Celebrating Black History trilogy collection, and LOVE POEMS. She has been published in Obsidian, Prairie Schooner, AUNT CHLOE, Artemis Journal, Solstice, Southern Women’s Review, About Place Journal, West Trestle Review, Deep South Magazine, Stonecoast Review, and elsewhere. Faison is a Pushcart nominee and a recipient of the Tom Howard Poetry Prize who has been awarded fellowships from AWP, the Furious Flower Poetry Center, and Virginia Humanities. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of English at Virginia State University.