Vannida Sopor Kol

Vannida S. Kol is a Khmer-American poet based in Texas. As a second-generation immigrant and eldest daughter of refugees, her writing navigates and merges Khmer diaspora culture with Buddhist metaphysicality. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Margins, Shō Poetry Journal, and The Rising Phoenix Review, among others.

Kol is an MFA candidate at Randolph College. She holds a BA in English, a Creative Writing Certificate in Poetry, and a Minor in Religious Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She was a member of the Winter 2024 SEA Change Lab cohort, and has received fellowships from the Sundress Academy for the Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. She is the 2025 recipient of the University & College Prize for Randolph College from the Academy of American Poets.

Kol is an editorial board member of Revolute Literary Magazine (Lynchburg, VA) and Yanaguana (San Antonio, TX). She currently works in Supplemental Instruction as a Professional Writing Tutor at Northwest Vista College.

She divides her time between Texas and Cambodia, her two motherlands.