HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) — The Furious Flower Poetry Center will receive the 2025 Divergent Award for Excellence in Implementation of Literacy in a Digital Age.

According to a press release from James Madison University, Furious Flower recently learned of the honor, given by the Initiative for Literacy in a Digital Age Research. Representatives from the poetry center have been invited to share their work as part of the Literacy in a Digital Age lecture series in April 2025.

The Furious Flower Poetry Center received the award for The Furious Flower Syllabus Project: Opening the World of Black Poetry, which references the works of more than 150 critically acclaimed poets and includes unit plans, lesson plans, writing prompts and linked resources. In addition to providing critical tools and resources related to the teaching of Black poetry, the syllabus project will serve as a pedagogical companion to the 2024 Furious Flower Conference, to be held September 18-21 at JMU.

The Initiative’s awards ceremony is held annually to recognize the Divergent Award winners and for the award winners to share their expertise in the field. The Divergent Award was established in 2016 by the Initiative for 21st-Century Literacies Research to recognize the indelible contributions of educators and scholars who have dedicated their careers to the theoretical and practical study of 21st Century Literacies.