Our Poets

Find Aquarius at their Activating the Voice workshop on May 25th.

Aquarius Funkk (they/them) is an experimental and interdisciplinary artist creating performance, video, photography, digital art, and wearable art. Known as The Interplanetary Extraordinary, they are an expansive being who channels the cosmos through their performances. Aquarius creates immersive works centered around radical expression, genderfluidity, and Afrosurrealist world building.

A deep believer in the signs and synchronicities of the universe, Aquarius infuses their work with symbolism. They corporeally deconstruct the politics of gender, race, sexuality, identity, and class. They build (and destroy) layered personas and worlds meant to be experienced as static images, cabaret performances, and durational installations.

Aquarius is influenced by Afrofuturism and Black culture, high fashion, sci-fi, speculative fiction, and their own queer and non-binary lived experiences. Their work is an amalgamation of movement, ritual, body intelligence, and layering of multi-sensory elements; shaped by the practices and traditions of vogue ballroom, neo-burlesque, street performance, and experimental dance & theatre.

Since 2019, Aquarius has been residing in Mexico full-time. Between the U.S. and Mexico, they have worked extensively with performance art troupe La Pocha Nostra since 2016. Their film, A Letter To America, From a Parallel Universe, was featured in the 2021 Open Art Festival online exhibition, and their film Deep Fake was screened in the 2022 Videoaktion Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. In August 2024, they produced Opulence Mini Ball at SPACE Gallery in Portland, Maine. In November 2024, their film Reflections From the Void was shown in the Phull Phantasy virtual showcase for Theyfriend Non-Binary Performance Art Festival. 

Aquarius is presenting a live solo performance entitled The Lone Flamingo, a metaphorical death and resurrection ritual, initially debuted at OUTsider Festival in Austin, TX in 2024. They are currently in process of returning to their roots in Maine and building new pathways of interconnection between their home state, Mexico, and beyond.

Come hear Beetle share his poems at the Youth Poetry Showcase on May 22nd at NOVEL, 3pm - 4:30pm.

Beetle Rooke-Dutton (he/him/his) is a trans guy from southern Maine. His debut collection of poetry, Deer, Silent and Open-eyed, is a reflection of his experiences growing up in Maine as a trans youth, as well as a look into natural decomposition through the way of fruit, roadkill, and fish. He is a proud activist and engages in several areas of Maine's LGBTQ+ community, including helping with youth programming for OUT Maine. Beetle also enjoys collecting CDs, the outdoors, cold brew and thrifting. 

Ben Cates will share a poem at the Monster Beauties Book launch on May 20th.

Ben Cates (they/them) is a lifelong resident of Maine who has been writing, in one form or another, as long as they could read. For them, poetry is a way to make sense of a world that refuses to see people as they are and a portal to the place where words fail.

Don’t miss Calla at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th and at An Evening with Ian-Khara Ellasante at LA Arts on May 21st.

Calla Eris Orion (oe/os/oer) is a mirror-in-droste, looking at the world as a reflection of oerselves reflected back on oerselves. Oe work at a liberal arts college, live with oer dog Copper, and enjoy solitude. Oe attend the Stonecoast MFA program in Creative Writing, and were recently published by manywor(l)ds.

Claudia is a featured panelist on the Poets & Scholars Panel and the featured poet for our main event on May 23rd at USM.

Claudia Wilson (they/she) is a Black, trans poet from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. They studied English and Black Studies in college and earned their MFA from UMass Amherst. Their work lives at the intersections of identity, memory, and becoming—and is deeply rooted in community. Claudia grew as a writer and performer in spaces like The Writer’s Block in Columbus, and the Cantab Lounge and House Slam in Boston, which were foundational to their creative discipline.

Claudia is a VONA Fellow, a Juniper Fellow, and a graduate of The Writer’s Hotel. Their debut chapbook, GROWN (Game Over Books, 2019), explores themes of growth, survival, and transformation. Their forthcoming collection, Searching for Afrekete, continues to examine lineage, queerness, and the sacred.

Their writing has appeared in Winter Tangerine, Mass Poetry, and Passengers North. They are a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council Fellowship, a finalist for the Academy of American Poets Prize and the Elizabeth George Foundation, and a Sara Patton awardee. They were also selected as a GrubStreet Black Creative Writing Fellow.

In addition to their literary work, Claudia is active in the mental health field, where they support community-based, peer-centered alternatives to crisis care. They currently facilitate and advocate for Alternatives to Suicide groups—intentional, non-coercive spaces that center honesty, mutual aid, and the complexity of living. This work reflects their deep belief in collective care and the power of holding space for others’ stories.

Claudia has taught poetry at Smith College and UMass Amherst, led workshops at Manna Community Center in Western Massachusetts, and participated in cultural and literary panels with GrubStreet. Across all their work, Claudia centers the richness of Black and trans life, and the power of poetry as a space for truth-telling, connection, and transformation.

elm will share a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

elm root (they/them) is a patchwork quilt of all of their favorite humans, places, and activities. much of their writing and creativity centers community care, queer and trans joy, mental health, and disability liberation. they also enjoy reading, embroidery, walking in the cemetery, napping, and playing with their kitties. if given the option, they would like to become a river troll who lives in a mushroom cottage with their friends where they all make art together.

Find Ian-Khara at their workshop Writing the Threshold: Poetry for Liminal Spaces and Times on May 21st and at the Trans Poets & Scholars Panel on May 23rd.

Ian-Khara Ellasante (they/them) is a Black, queer, gender-infinite parent, poet, teacher, and cultural studies scholar. Their poetry and essays have appeared in various journals and anthologies. Ian-Khara is a Cave Canem fellow, recipient of the New Millennium Award for Poetry, and finalist for the National Poetry Series 2024 competition. Ian-Khara teaches Gender and Sexuality Studies and Africana at Bates College.

Jae Casella will share a poem at the Monster Beauties Book launch on May 20th.

Jae Casella is an emerging genderqueer poet and photographer. They live on the coast of Maine where they enjoy date nights with their wife, strolling the shoreline with their metal detector and snapping photos. Their favorite place to be is outside. Jae's poems have appeared in Wingless Dreamer, Red Rose Thorns Journal, Bending Genres, and Epistemic Literary. Their photography website ihttps://jaecase.viewbug.com/. Their social media handle for Instagram is JammityJam.

Featured reader at the Monster Beauties Book Launch on May 20th.

Jude Marx (they/them) grew up in New Mexico and now resides in southern Maine. They have been writing since childhood and teach creative writing to young people across Maine. Jude is also a yoga teacher and visual artist. You can find them by the ocean or curled up with a book. 

Kage will share some poems at the Claudia Wilson Feature on May 23rd.

Kage Johnson (they/them) is a queer & nonbinary restorative & transformative justice practitioner, writer, abolitionist visionary, and freak for life. Kage writes their heart out and opens up yours on their substack: blue sky moon.

Drawn toward transformation and cycles of life, death, and rebirth– Kage is also a sexual violence survivor, a trained sexual assault survivor advocate, a trained death doula, an experienced landscape gardener. They invest a lot of their time as a co-founding community member of Healing First!, a transformative justice collective led by survivors who advocate for RJ/TJ as an accessible option for everyone, the Maine chapter representative of the growing global coalition, Survivors For Justice Reform, and a steering committee member of the Maine Restorative Justice Coalition (MERJ).

Kage orients their life around asking themself these two questions daily: "How do we respond to harm without causing more harm?" and "Am I leading from a place of love or fear?" Kage comes from a family of Irish settlers that has lived in the Dawnland (unceded homelands of the Wabanaki Nations) for generations. Kage loves coffee, plants, and the salty ocean.

Kyle will read a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

Kyle Suthowski is a mixed race White/Hispanic trans male. Submitting poetry to a contest is far out of my comfort zone—oftentimes I hate my poetry—but I want my words and experience to reach people, to touch their hearts and have them feel related to. Recently I had a second name change, from Asher to Kyle. This decision was borne of several complex factors—my relationship to having multiple personalities, namely, and my boyfriend helping me see who I’ve really been, how I’ve been existing as only a shadow of my full potential. My poem “becoming kyle” is about this recent shift in my perspective and how my love for another boy has transformed my life.

Find Leigh at the Trans Poetry Youth Showcase on May 22nd.

Leigh Ellis is a junior at Columbia University studying creative writing and education. He loves writing poetry exploring trans identity and spreading trans joy. His poem "Squid Season" was awarded the 2022 Maine Literary Award for youth poetry. When not writing trans poems, Leigh also enjoys making art, listening to music, and rollerblading. His favorite season is spring. 

Find Len at the Trans Poetry Youth Showcase on May 22nd.

Len Harrison is the Junior Class Poet of the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine, and has been a writer for as long as he can remember. When not writing, they can be found reading science fiction novels at the beach, working backstage at Franklin Theatre, or hiking the Midcoast with friends and family. This poem, “After the Turtle Years”, is a reflection on his life since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leo Eichfeld, accompanied by Inventing Trees, will share a poem at the Monster Beauties Book launch on May 20th.

Leo Eichfeld (he/him) loves to make all sorts of things, from poetry, to puppets, to messes. To him, art can be a wonderful tool for imagining identity. His work tries to balance many elements of what it means to resist and to commune. He's a member of Inventing Trees, an award winning troupe that loves to kill puppets, but also to celebrate the wonderful and bizarre. He draws much of his inspiration from being an educator. His favorite beings to learn from are the students he works with, and the woods he grew up in. He's still living in those woods, with his tiny (evil) dog and his sweetheart, next to a graveyard and a waterfall.

Find Littlefawn at An Evening with Ian-Khara Ellasante on May 21st at LA Arts.

Littlefawn Ketchum is a 2-Spirit member of the Penobscot Nation. They have published three books of poetry with their fourth currently in production. They are a mother, healer, educator, and social justice activist. They work for the Maine CDC as a Communication Specialist. They live in Winthrop with their two fat cats.

Lonny will be reading a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

Lonny Saleeby (they/them) have spent their adult life on a trajectory of community care. They started in death work with an expertise in memory care before moving to the care of children, adolescents, animals and plants. They spend their time stewarding their garden, loving their dog and friends, and seeing to the needs of a herd of twenty-two goats and a school of fifty preschoolers. They are a visual artist, a poet and healer.

Lukcia will be sharing a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch.

Lukcia Patricia Sullivan (she/her) is a retired military officer and veterinarian. She is a lifelong girl who finally transitioned at age sixty-seven after suffering from gender dysphoria for decades. Divorced and without immediate family, Sullivan happily resides as her sober, true self in Hampden, Maine.

Maya is host of our main events, the Monster Beauties book launch and the Poet’s and Scholar’s Panel plus they are facilitating the Where Does Your Grief Sit workshop.

Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and was selected as the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine for a July 2021 to July 2024 term.

Maya’s debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, is available through Game Over Books . Eir second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date, is available now through Harbor Editions. Maya’s third poetry collection, a chapbook: What’s So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway? , is available now via Garden Party Collective. Maya’s collections are a finalist of a New England Book Award, a finalist of a Maine Literary Award, and a winner of Garden Party Collective’s chapbook contest respectively. She graduated with a Bachelors in Social Work and a Bachelors of Art in English in May 2017. She graduated with a community practice-focused Masters in Social Work and Certificate in Applied Arts and Social Justice at the University of New England in May 2018. She graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts for Creative Writing with a Focus in Poetry at Randolph College in June 2022.

They have featured as a guest artist, panelist, and speaker in spaces such as The Mixed Remixed Festival in Los Angeles, California, The Interfaith Leadership Institute in Chicago, Illinois, Black Table Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, TEDxYouth at Cape Elizabeth High School, and The Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America series. Ey has competed locally and nationally in slam poetry since her freshman year at East Carolina University under the slam team Word of Mouth in Greenville, North Carolina. While with them, ey placed in the top 20 at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) in 2015, and opened for folks such as Indira Allegra, Neil Hilborn, and Angela Davis. They were a finalist of the Slam Free Or Die Qualifier Slam for their National Poetry Slam (NPS) 2018 team and a runner up of the Slam Free or Die Individual Slam Championship in 2018. They were also a recipient of the Maine Humanities Council’s Constance Carlson Public Humanities Prize in 2024.

Find Miles reading poems at the Claudia Wilson feature on May 23rd.

Miles Stevens (they/she) is a love note to their ancestors and the community they foster today. She writes poems that center her experience as a Sámi diasporic person and the process of reclamation for their culture alongside their identity as a Queer person. They have presented at the University of Maine at Farmington Symposium as a Wilson Scholar and published Where Life and Language Meet: An Interdisciplinary Collection in Context of My Sámi Heritage through the University of Maine at Farmington Honors Program. Currently she is an MFA Candidate with the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine, working to explore identity through poetry and craft. 

Miles originally comes from Norway, Maine and now has settled in Portland with their partner and cat, Goose. They are an avid lover of lilacs, spring, the color yellow, and all things isopods!

Prophett will be sharing a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

Prophett is a writer, artist, technician and performer. They spend most of their time in the theater, both onstage and backstage and he has a passion for Children’s Theatre. This is Proph’s first piece of writing they submitted publicly so they’re very excited to share this poem with their community. Prophett also spends his time community organizing around houselessness, queer liberation, and an end to colonial occupation. As a born and raised Mainer and someone who has had to work hard to find and build a trans community in their home state, Proph could not be more thankful for this project. Landback and protect trans kids!

River will be reading a poem at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

River (he/him) is a fifth-generation Mainer born and raised in western Maine. He is currently in graduate school training to be a clinical mental health counselor. He believes in the power of writing to facilitate healing and personal growth. Writing has personally helped him accept and even enjoy the gray areas of life. When he is not talking to people as his profession, he enjoys reading memoirs and having conversations with his partner about everything and nothing.

Catch Sampson reading a poem and performing improvisational poetic movements for the featured set at the Monster Beauties book launch on May 20th.

Sampson Spadafore (they/them) is a white, neurodivergent, queer and trans person currently living on unceded Wabanaki tribal land. Sampson works as a poet, writer, and theatre artist around themes of trans identity, queer and trans joy, family, romantic partners, community, grief, spirituality, and self expression. They hold a BFA in Musical Theatre from Nazareth University of Rochester. They are the recipient of the 2022 Bodwell Fellowship through the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and Hewnoaks Artist Residency. They were nominated as Portland Poet Laureate. They proudly a founding member of Brazen Bandits, a trans artist collective.

Vincent will share a poem at the Monster Beauties Book Launch on May 20th.

Vincent Herrington (they/them) is a white nonbinary poet currently living on Wabanaki land. They were the winner of the 2023 Plunkett Poetry Festival's undergraduate student award and their work was featured at the 2024 Belfast Poetry Festival as part of the Trans Poetics Archive project. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, they have lived in Maine since 2021, when they were moved to a residential therapeutic program in Portland after a years-long struggle with depression, suicidality, and post-traumatic stress. They are currently a senior seeking an English degree at USM, and if all goes well, they will have graduated by the time you are reading this. They hope their writing moves you in whatever direction you need to be moved.

Violet will share a poem at the Evening with Ian-Khara Ellasante at LA Arts on May 21st.

Violet Ferlito (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist, currently focusing on writing and performance art that centers her experience as a queer and trans woman. Originally from the Capital Region of New York, she has lived in Maine for around three years. Most recently she has performed with The Waldo Theatre in its production of "The Vagina Monologues" and Two Cent Theatre's production of "Do You Feel Anger?". She is thrilled to be collaborating with the Trans Poetic Archive, especially during a time in which trans folk and other marginalized communities are under attack. Beyond her work as an artist, Violet has practiced a variety of martial arts for over a decade, is an avid gamer, and all around nerd.

You will not want to miss Yaffa at Print on May 24th.

Yaffa is a featured panelist on the Poet’s & Scholar’s Panel on May 23rd and will facilitate a Building Worlds Through Poetry workshop, reading and book signing for their new book, Sage, on Saturday, May 24tth.

Mx. Yaffa is an author and storyteller that paves the way for us to imagine utopia through every word. Having shared their story with over 300,000 audience members at speaking events globally.

Mx. Yaffa is an acclaimed disabled, autistic, trans, queer, Muslim, and indigenous Palestinian individual who has received multiple awards for their transformative work around displacement, decolonization, equity, and centering the lived experiences of individuals most impacted by injustice.

Mx. Yaffa is the Executive Director of Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), as well as the founder of several non-profits and community projects.

Mx. Yaffa is an engineer, death and birthing doula, peer support specialist, consultant, and artist.