When Robin Wall Kimmerer’s manuscript arrived, we knew we had something special. As a PhD botanist and a Citizen Member of the Potawatomi Nation, the author braided two worldviews—one scientific, the other a belief that plants are our oldest teachers—into a series of narrative essays that evoke a sense of wonder. But we never dreamed it could be this special: Since Braiding Sweetgrass was published in 2012, Kimmerer has been featured on Krista Tippett’s “On Being.” She has also been invited to address the General Assembly of the United Nations, and to speak to hundreds of schools, organizations, and bookstores. Her words have reached millions in just three years, and, judging by the thousands of fan comments the author and the press has received, this exposure has led to countless wild places preserved, activists created, and minds forever expanded. 

The Ballard Spahr Prize for Poetry exists to bring new voices from the Midwest to prominence in the literary world. In Chris Santiago, the prize helped Milkweed Editions identify a poet and a book doubly deserving of broad attention. Not only is Tula an amazing debut collection, it is also an examination of the shortcomings and possibilities of both language and poetry to express the experiences of a second-generation immigrant who does not fully acquire the language of his parents. Throughout the collection, Chris illuminates what so many children of immigrants struggle with as they attempt to honor their parents’ culture and traditions. From books like Phoenix Gone, Terrace Empty to Dandarians, the poetry list at Milkweed Editions has a tradition of bringing new voices to the increasingly multicultural conversation in our country.