poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
and writer of
young adult fiction
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults.
The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
. She served as 2019 Poet Laureate of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.
She is from
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...
.
She was a fellow at the
Michener Center for Writers The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. It is widely regarded as one of the top creative writing programs in the wo ...
, and received ''Swink Magazines Award for Emerging Writers and the Marlboro Poetry Prize.
She wrote for ''
The Texas Observer
''The Texas Observer'' (also known as the ''Observer'') is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The ''Observer'' is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3)Austin American-Statesman''.
Her work has appeared in ''Cimarron Review, Black Warrior Review, 32 Poems, and Missouri Review Online''.
She lives in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.
Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and cho ...
, for ''Burn Lake''
Works
"Purple Heart" ''Marlboro Review'' ''Swink'', 2007 ''AGNI'' ''AGNI'' ''Poetry for Children'' "Will You"
*''Burn Lake.'' Penguin Group USA, 2010,
*''Instant Winner: Poems.'' Penguin Group USA, 2014,
*''I'm Not Missing: A Novel.'' Flatiron Books, New York, 2018,