Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
Biography
Born in Arima, Trinidad, Boyce-Taylor migrated to St. Albans, Queens, at age 13. She studied theater at City College of New York and later earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine and an MSW from Fordham University. She formed the Boyce-Taylor Theatrical Company in the early 1970s and began performing her poetry. She also studied with Audre Lorde, whose teaching influenced her development as a poet.
Boyce-Taylor has published multiple poetry collections, including Raw Air, Night When Moon Follows, Convincing the Body, Arrival, and We Are Not Wearing Helmets. Arrival was a finalist for the 2018 Paterson Poetry Prize. Her verse memoir Mama Phife Represents, about her son Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor of A Tribe Called Quest, won the 2022 Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry.
Her work extends beyond individual books into literary and performance communities. She founded and curated the Calypso Muse Reading Series and the Glitter Pomegranate Performance Series and has facilitated workshops for organizations including Cave Canem and Poets & Writers. Her poetry was commissioned by The Joyce Theater and the National Endowment for the Arts for Ronald K. Brown’s EVIDENCE, A Dance Company. Her papers are held by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
BQW Impact
Boyce-Taylor’s work contributes to Black lesbian and Caribbean literary history through poetry that brings sexuality, motherhood, migration, family, grief, and cultural memory into sustained conversation. Her public record documents her identification as a lesbian, while the Schomburg Center preserves her papers within collections documenting Black women’s, Caribbean, and lesbian literary history.
Her contribution also includes creating spaces for literary and performance expression. Through Calypso Muse, the Glitter Pomegranate Performance Series, teaching, and performance work, Boyce-Taylor has contributed to literary and cultural communities centered on Black, Caribbean, women’s, and LGBTQ+ experiences. The Schomburg Center’s collection preserves documentation of her literary and performance career.
Notable Works
Arrival (2017)
A poetry collection exploring family history, motherhood, Trinidad, New York City, and intergenerational experience; it was a finalist for the 2018 Paterson Poetry Prize.
Mama Phife Represents (2021)
A verse memoir about Boyce-Taylor’s son Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor that explores grief, memory, and family history and won the 2022 Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry.
The Limitless Heart: New and Selected Poems (1997 - 2022, 2023)
A collection of new and previously published poems spanning Boyce-Taylor’s literary career that won the 2024 CLMP Firecracker Award for Poetry.
Learn More
Boyce-Taylor’s official website, with information about her books, performances, interviews, and current work.
The Schomburg Center finding aid for the Cheryl Boyce-Taylor Papers, documenting her life, writing, performance work, and archival materials.
A creator-specific interview discussing Boyce-Taylor’s writing and We Are Not Wearing Helmets.
The 2022 awards announcement documenting Mama Phife Represents as the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry winner.
Community of Literary Magazines & Presses
The 2024 Firecracker Awards announcement documenting The Limitless Heart as the Firecracker Award for Poetry winner.