Until 2007 Elina Petrova lived in Ukraine and worked in engineering management. She published two poetry books in English (Aching Miracle, 2015, and Desert Candles, 2019) and one in her native Russian language. Elina’s poems have appeared in Notre Dame Review, Texas Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Southwestern American Literature, Porter House Review, California Quarterly; anthologies by presses of Sul Ross State University, Lamar University and elsewhere.

Celina A. Gomez is a writer, performance poet, and educator who coaches performance poetry to young people. She is one of four poet-organizers for Poets Against Walls. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a graduate certificate in Mexican American Studies. She has performed and won performance competitions, is published in various anthologies and journals, and participated as a panelist in multiple poetry conferences and festivals. She is a native to the Rio Grande Valley.

jo reyes-boitel is a queer, mixed Latinx poet, playwright, and scholar completing their MFA at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where they also teach undergraduate creative writing. Publications include Michael + Josephine, a novel in verse (FlowerSong Press, 2019) and the chapbook mouth (Neon Hemlock, 2021). Their forthcoming book of poetry, the matchstick litanies, is due November 2023 from Next Page Press. For more information please visit joreyesboitel.com.

Diego Nguyen was mentored by former Texas poet Laureate Jenny Browne. He graduated with an MFA from Miami University in 2022. His controversial public persona is characterized by his extensive tattoos, legal issues, and publicized political feuds.