Books

A Body of Wild Light: The Fall and Rise of an American Poet (memoir-in-essays). Haymarket Books, forthcoming.

A Map of My Want (poetry). Haymarket Books, July 2024. Winner, 2025 Midwest Book Award for Poetry; Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year [2025/Poetry]; Shortlist Finalist, 2024 Chicago Review of Books Award for Poetry.

HoodWitch (poetry). Acre Books, October 2019. Shortlist Finalist, 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Poetry; Finalist, 2019 Julie Suk Award; Finalist, 2019 Balcones Poetry Prize.

Recordings

Supper with Laveau: Poems (spoken word album). QOP Records, 2026. Writer, performer, and producer; submitted for 69th GRAMMY Awards consideration in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category.

The Fury — Antonio Vergara (contemporary blues). AVA Records, 2024. Featured artist, spoken word vocals.

Caught in the Rhythm — Benjamin Boone (spoken word/jazz). Origin Records, 2023. Featured artist; wrote and performed original poems on four tracks.

A New Name for My Love (spoken word album). Infinite Creative Literary, 2021. Written and performed during residency with Civil Rights Corps.

Onyx (spoken word album). Arrondi Creative Productions, 2019. Poems from HoodWitch with original composition by Delano Taylor.

Collision City (hip hop). Grid Squid Entertainment, 2015.

Earlier releases: Rough Patch: 1985–2012 (2012); Rip Da Mic (2011); The Experience V. 1 & 2 (2009).

Select Performances, Exhibitions & Commissions

Performances

The Witnessing (durational poetry ceremony). de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. April 18, 2026.

Your Healing Is Killing Me by Virginia Grise. Cara Mía Theatre, dir. Kendra Ware. Principal actor, touring 2023–present; Encuentro National Theatre Festival, Los Angeles Theatre Center, 2024.

A New Name for My Love. Ford Foundation, New York (Art for Justice), 2023; House of Blues, Houston (Recording Academy Texas Chapter), 2023; Wave Maker Festival, Black Mountain Institute, Las Vegas, 2022.

Bar for Bar (choreopoem, table reading). Broadway Advocacy Coalition, 2021. Playwright and actor.

Exhibitions

The Digital Archives of the Unseen: Poetry and Portraits from the Age of Censorship and Detention (debut solo exhibition; multimedia installation). Walls Turned Sideways Gallery, Chicago. February 6 – May 24, 2026

Collective Gestures: Building Community Through Practice (text-based installation). Center for Art and Advocacy, Brooklyn, 2025.

8 x 5 Billboard Exhibit. Art At A Time Like This × Save Art Space, Houston, 2023 (cur. Barbara Pollack & Anne Verhallen); Miami, 2022. Featured in Hyperallergic and Artnet.

No Justice Without Love. Ford Foundation Gallery, New York, 2023 (cur. Daisy Desrosiers).

Seeing/Seen. Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, Las Vegas, 2021 (cur. Erica Vital-Lazare).

Commissioned Poems

American Library Association convening, June 2026 Conversation in Gwendolyn’s Kitchen ·  Common Ground, Illinois Humanities 50th Anniversary Gala, 2025  ·  Building Bridges, Igniting Change, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2024  ·  Rootwork, Illinois Humanities Public Humanities Awards, 2023  ·  Harris County's Death Penalty, Civil Rights Corps, 2022  ·  Greetings and Praise to the Hands of the City, Austin Community Foundation, 2022  ·  Vientres de los Cuatro Ríos, Con Mi Madre, 2022  ·  A New Name for My Love and Take Me to Paradise, Civil Rights Corps, for the introduction of the End the Exception Act (Sen. Merkley / Rep. Williams), 2021.

Documentary

Racially Charged: America's Misdemeanor Problem, dir. Robert Greenwald. Brave New Films, 2021. Interviewee.

45 Days in a Texas Jail, dir. Julianna Brannum. ITVS/PBS, 2019. Film subject.

Honors, Fellowships & Residencies

Haymarket Writing Freedom Fellow, Haymarket Books & the Mellon Foundation                                               2025

Midwest Book Award for Poetry, A Map of My Want                                                                                       2025

Visiting Writing Fellow, Ragdale                                                                                                                    2025

Amplify 5 Series Playwright Finalist, Definition Theatre                                                                                    2025

Gwendolyn Brooks Living Legacy Honoree, Brooks Permissions                                                                        2024

Chicago Individual Artist Program Grant, DCASE                                                                                              2024

Envisioning Justice Grantee, Illinois Humanities                                                                                              2023

Special Mention, Re:Touch Smartphone Photography Contest, Kulturprojekte Berlin                                          2023

Grantee, Art for Justice Fund                                                                                                                        2022

Writer-in-Residence, Texas After Violence Project                                                                                     2021–22

Poet-in-Residence, Civil Rights Corps                                                                                                             2021

Shearing Fellow, Black Mountain Institute, UNLV                                                                                            2021

Artivism Fellow, Broadway Advocacy Coalition                                                                                               2021

Soros Justice Fellowship Finalist, Open Society Foundations                                                                             2021

Sappho Award, Palette Poetry (selected by Victoria Chang)                                                                              2020

Best of the Net, Sundress Publications                                                                                                           2020

Writer-in-Residence, Tin House                                                                                                                     2020

Right of Return Fellow, Center for Art and Advocacy                                                                                       2020

Finalist, Creative Capital Award                                                                                                                     2019

Nonfiction Fellow, Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Retreat                                                                          2019

Writing for Justice Fellowship Finalist, PEN America                                                                                        2018

Champion, Austin Poetry Slam; Finalist, Women of the World Poetry Slam                                                        2009

Teaching & Editorial Practice

University of Nevada, Reno — Low-Residency MFA  ·  Adjunct Faculty, Poetry                                     2022–present

Residency Workshop Instructor and Commencement Speaker, 29th Residency, Lake Tahoe, August 2026.

StoryStudio Chicago  ·  Core Faculty, Poetry (Guest Teaching Writer, 2022–24)                                     2024–present

Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Retreat  ·  Faculty                                                                                     2026

Craft Career Studio / Wild Light Institute  ·  Founder                                                                          2024–present

Editorial and career consultancy for writers and artists.

Infinite Creative Literary  ·  Founder & Creative Director                                                                     2017–present

Independent publisher; artist-in-residence programming serving 1,500+ artists and 50+ organizations.

Center for Art and Advocacy  ·  Alumni Consultant                                                                                2023–2025

Black Femme Collective  ·  Editor-in-Chief                                                                                             2021–2022

Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review  ·  Editor-in-Chief (2020); Managing Editor (2019–20)                           2019–2020

Mano Amiga  ·  Lead Organizer & Program Coordinator                                                                          2019–2020

Guest Teaching, Keynotes & Lectures

California State University, Fresno — Songwriting & Composition (2023–2025)  ·  University of Chicago Arts + Public Life (2024)  ·  Illinois Humanities, The Dream Salon (2024)  ·  Unlock the Box Conference (2024)  ·  Black Mountain Institute × Spotlight Poetry (2024)  ·  Bowling Green State University, keynote (2023)  ·  University of Florida frank Gathering (2023)  ·  Tin House Summer Workshop, faculty (2020, 2022)  ·  International Writers' Collective masterclass (2022)  ·  UNLV (2021)  ·  AWP Conference panels (2021, 2022).

Leadership, Service & Affiliations

The Guild Literary Complex  ·  Board Chair (Board Member, 2024)                                                       2024–present

American Prison Writing Archive, Johns Hopkins University  ·  Advisory Board Member                                     2026

The Recording Academy  ·  Voting Member                                                                                       2021–present

Chicago Chapter Member Engagement Committee (2025–27); District Advocate, Texas & Chicago Chapters (2022–present); Songwriters & Composers Committee, Texas Chapter (2022–24); GRAMMY U Mentor (2021, 2023).

Ragdale  ·  Curatorial Council; Panelist                                                                                              2024–present

QOP Records ·  Founder                                                                                                                               2026

Independent label.

Judging & panels

PEN America Writing Justice (2026); Lambda Literary Awards (2021–23); Right of Return USA (2022–); Miller Poetry Prize reader (2020–24); f(r)iction (2022); Witness (2021); Outfest (2020). Mentor: Adroit (2020–21), Los Angeles Review of Books (2019). Texas Leadership Council, Texas Center for Justice and Equity (2020–21).

Select Publications

Anthologies

Poemhood: Our Black Revival (HarperCollins, 2024)  ·  Mid/South Sonnets (Belle Point Press, 2023)  ·  The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood (UGA Press, 2022)  ·  When There Are Nine (Moon Tide Press, 2022)  ·  The Literary Tarot (Brink Literacy Project, 2022)  ·  What Tells You Ripeness (Pangyrus, 2021)  ·  We Got This: Black Writers on Imagination (The DC Center, 2021).

Poems

Poetry Magazine (2026)  ·  Queer Poem-A-Day (2026)  ·  Salt Hill Journal (2024) ·  Kenyon Review (2024)  ·  f(r)iction (2024, 2020)  ·  Phantom Kangaroo (2023)  ·  Hayden's Ferry Review (2023)  ·  Southern Cultures (2023)  ·  Split This Rock (2023)  ·  Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day (2023)  ·  American Poetry Review, cover feature (2022, 2020)  ·  Torch Literary Arts (2022)  ·  Scalawag (2022)  ·  The Blue Mountain Review, cover feature (2021)  ·  Northwest Review (2021; Pushcart nominee)  ·  The Yale Review (2021)  ·  Palette Poetry (2020; Sappho Award)  ·  POETRY (2020)  ·  Frontier Poetry (2020)  ·  Foglifter (2020)  ·  Poetry Daily (2020)  ·  Adroit (2020)  ·  Cincinnati Review (2019; Best of the Net)  ·  The Rumpus (2019)  ·  Tahoma Literary Review (2019; Pushcart nominee).

Prose

The Massachusetts Review (2023)  ·  Texas After Violence Project essay series (2022)  ·  Living Cities' Reckoning With Race Project (2021)  ·  Ecotone (2021)  ·  NAPOMO / Caits Meissner (2021)  ·  Poetry Foundation blog (2020)  ·  Longreads (2020)  ·  Barrelhouse (2020)  ·  Kenyon Review (2020)  ·  Texas Observer (2019)  ·  Color Bloq (2019)  ·  HuffPost (2019)  ·  Slate (2018).

Representation

Literary: Annie Hwang, Renegade Literary 

Education

University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe  ·  MFA, Creative Writing (Poetry)                                                    2018

Texas State University, San Marcos  ·  BA, English and Anthropology                                                                2010