Dear Family and Friends,

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been accepted into two incredible writing programs this summer for poetry:

VONA Poetry Fellow - Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation Summer 2025 Online Workshop with Anastacia-Reneé

Kenyon Review's Residential Writers Workshop with Major Jackson

I am so grateful for the partial scholarships I have received from Kenyon and VONA, but unfortunately, I still require more financial support in order to make it possible for me to attend these programs.

I currently work as a part-time theater administrator and teaching artist. For the last couple of years, I have been hustling non-stop to make ends meet and cover my living expenses. At one point, I was working roughly 5-6 jobs at once as a freelance producer and dramaturg, education manager, operations associate, ballet teacher, and more.

Despite dedicating my career over the last several years to producing other artists’ theatrical work, writing poetry continues to reveal itself as the truest vessel for me to speak in my most authentic voice. Having specifically concentrated in theatre, dance, and Africana studies at Sarah Lawrence College, I have scaffolded my own self-education in creative writing over the years, but now I am eager for greater guidance. These two programs would allow me to finally slow down, study, write, and as Mary Oliver says, “pay attention” so I may fully exercise my devotion to poetry.

I am hoping to raise at least $1,295 to cover the outstanding tuition balance I owe to Kenyon and $388 to support me in paying half of the outstanding $775 tuition balance I owe VONA.

Donating to this GoFundMe would make it possible for me to find community, sharpen my craft, generate material, gain mentors, and intentionally dedicate my time to further defining myself as an artist. Given the frightening, divisive, and often depressing world we live in today, I feel that it is my responsibility as an artist to use my voice to archive and inspire empathy, action, and radical joy. I believe this is what my writing can and will do.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider making a donation. Every dollar counts.

With my sincerest gratitude,

Julliette Holliday Stripling

*If you're interested in reading some of my work, follow this link to view one of my poems.*

About Me: Julliette Holliday (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based Black multi-hyphenate artist—writer, director, theatre-maker, and teaching artist. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she concentrated her studies in theatre, dance, and history. Julliette’s recent credits include Shakespeare’s Stars by Spellbound Theater Company at The New Victory Theater, [sunflower] by Sifiso Mabena at Dixon Place, Frolic with Trusty Sidekick Theater Company, and The Healing Shipment by Maria Camia at La Mama Experimental Theater Center. Originally from Westerville, OH, Julliette’s writing seeks to illuminate the magical realism of the mundane world’s perceived unassuming beauty. Currently, she works as a teaching artist in underserved NYC public high schools with Opening Act and as a 1st-3rd grade drama teacher for Brooklyn Arts Exchange.