Daniela Summerlin

MFA Candidate
Graduate Teaching Assistant
MFA events Coordinator
Graduate Writing Consultant
Daniela "Dani" Summerlin is an Appalachian poet and MFA candidate. She is originally from East Tennessee and holds a BA in English from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her writing career began in 2011, when she won the Young Southern Writers Program award for her poem “I like to draw”. Dani's poetry centers around historical/archival research, religion, and familial ties in East Tennessee. She serves as a Teaching Assistant, a Graduate Consultant for the Robert E. Hemenway Writing Center, the MFA Vice President for the English Graduate Student Organization (EGSO), and the UKY MFA Events Coordinator for the 2026 calendar year. Works from Dani's recent collections, Heathen Country: The Scopes Trial and Hollershots, are forthcoming in 4+ Literary magazines for the summer and fall 2026 season.
Contact Information
ldsu226@uky.edu
Office hours by appointment (Online)
Education
BA English - University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Research Interests
  • Poety
  • Appalachian literature and culture
Affiliations
  • English
  • Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies
  • The Writing Center