Allie Marini
Tarot For Poets: Writing Down The Cards
Allie Marini is a Florida woman, cross-genre writer, visual artist, maker, and tarot reader. She runs Creepy Girl Trap PDX, where she slings cards & oddities.
Find her online: @creepygirltrap.pdx @kiddeternity
https://linktr.ee/creepygirltrap.pdx
Carol Barrett
Making Art from Rare Experience: The Poem Defying Embarrassment or Shame
Carol Barrett, Ph.D, holds doctorates in both clinical psychology and creative writing. She coordinated the Creative Writing Certificate Program at Union Institute & University, and also teaches in the Creativity Studies Program at Saybrook University. Her books include Calling in the Bones, which won the Snyder Prize from Ashland Poetry Press, Drawing Lessons from Finishing Line Press, and Pansies from Sonder Press, a finalist for the 2020 Oregon Book Award in General Nonfiction, and the first book in English about the Apostolic Lutheran community. Her creative work has appeared in JAMA, Poetry International, Poetry Northwest, The Women’s Review of Books, The Christian Century, Christianity and Literature, and elsewhere. A former NEA Fellow in Poetry, she lives in Bend, OR.
Christine Delea
Celebrating 70 Years of OPA!
Mary Christine Delea is the author of The Skeleton Holding Up the Sky, three chapbooks, and numerous journal publications. She is currently at work on a number of poetry manuscripts. Her website is mchristinedelea.com, and it includes a blog where she posts poems she loves with a short commentary twice a week. She also writes a Substack called Peeled Citrus Prompts. She is a former college professor, social worker, Poet-in-the-Schools, and retail manager. Delea now spends her time volunteering for various nonprofits and leading poetry workshops in-person and online. She also makes beaded jewelry, headdresses, and quilts.
Colette Tennant
Making Peace (and Poetry) with your Obsessions & Fascinations
Colette Tennant has three books of poetry: Commotion of Wings, Eden and After, and Sweet Gothic. Her book, Religion in The Handmaid’s Tale: a Brief Guide, was published in 2019 to coincide with Atwood’s publication of The Testaments. Her poems have won various awards and have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes along with being published in various journals, including Prairie Schooner, Rattle, Southern Poetry Review, and Poetry Ireland Review. Colette is an English and Humanities Professor who has also taught art in Great Britain, Germany, and Italy.
Concepción Sámano
Braided Voices: Writing a Bilingual Poem
Concepción Sámano (Guanajuato, Mexico, 1971) is a poet and cultural promoter. She studied Philosophy and trained in art history and theory. She has published four poetry collections, the compilation Desde el otro lado (texts by Oregonian women), and the anthology of Oregonian poetry A contracorriente, as well as poems in magazines and anthologies in Oregon and Mexico. A two-time recipient of the FOECA Guanajuato fellowship, she has been awarded in various literary competitions and won second place in the Literature for the Diaspora Contest, organized by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad and the Mexican Embassy in Berlin in 2023. She participates in poetry collectives and produces a program on the community radio station XEUP-Radio Poder. She was part of the founding committee of the Oregon Book Fair and was invited to the 5th Artists’ Gathering of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad. In 2025, she was a finalist for the Fields Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Community Foundation. She is the Literary Program Coordinator at the Oregonian Institute of Culture. She holds certifications in addiction treatment and mental health. She facilitates workshops in creative writing, healing, and emotional wellness. She is a Mentorship Coordinator and recovery counselor at Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad, and Founder-Director of the Migranta Cultural and Human Development Project.
Denise Diamond
Poetry as Dialogue
Denise is a retired, community college Emeritus Professor of English. Denise has a BS from Lewis and Clark as well as a Master of Education and a Master of Arts from other universities. Her background is multi-cultural, and her teaching experiences range from inner city schools to Colegio Lincoln in Costa Rica. She has shared her bi-lingual and English poetry at Fringe Festivals and various poetry readings. Most recently she facilitated a writing retreat where she performed her one woman show, Tiny Tears. Denise is a member of The Backstreet Gallery Artist Co-op in Florence. She is a former member of Lane Community College Board of Trustees. Denise loves to travel, write, attend and support the arts, remodel homes and learn new things.
Doug Cox
Stop Short: The Power and Craft Behind Brief Poems
Doug Cox is a punk poet and educator who got born and raised in Fresno, California. He is the author of three chapbooks, True Crime, Punk Prayer, and Punk Psalm, as well as the full-length collections, The Last Decent Jukebox in America, Democratic Duets, and Chéz Anxiety. He currently lives on the Oregon coast, where he hosts community-based workshops and live poetry events through Reverb Press.
Efraín Díaz-Horna
Apuntes para empezar una aventura literaria
Efraín Díaz-Horna was born in Peru. He was educated in Lima, Peru, Oregon and Wisconsin. He holds two graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Efraín worked for the State of Oregon and Multnomah County and retired in 2001. He was described as “a legend in our midst: Philosopher, teacher, artist, poet, director—a true Renaissance Man.” Efraín has been drawing, painting, and writing since he was a child. He has exhibited his art in Oregon, Mexico, Russia, and Peru. His poetry has been published in Expreso, The Oregonian, The Hispanic News, The National Catholic Reporter, and several newsletters. He is the author of the following poetry books The Many Faces of Love (1983), Aire, agua y cenizas (2011), Cuatro poemas (2011), The Anvil of God (2011), TheLife of Oceans (2014), 1ra Antología de la poesía oregoniana (2018), Relative Poetry (2018), 2da Antología de la poesía oregoniana (2019), Cuando llegues al fondo, cava más abajo (2019)- a translation of Kim Stafford’s poetry- y La vida es la sal del hombre (2025). Efraín has been a member of the Oregon Council for the Humanities, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon United Nations Association, the Silverton Poetry Association, board member of the Oregon Poetry Association, the Instituto de Cultura Oregoniana, and has chaired the Oregon Hispanic Commission, etc.
Jamae Ann Sabangan
Excavating the Bones: Starting Points for Poetic Practice
Jamae (she / siya) is a multipassionate creative. She weaves between dancing (ballet, modern / contemporary, jazz, hip hop) and writing (poetry, micro fiction, short stories, novels). Her aim is to explore concepts of belonging, connection, and thriving. She will persist in crafting her stories in whatever form they take so she can produce performances and publish books on books on books.
Sue Fagalde Lick
Poetry 1, 2, 3
Sue Fagalde Lick fled Silicon Valley to write, play music and walk the beaches of the Oregon coast—when it isn’t raining sideways. She has published three poetry chapbooks, Gravel Road Ahead, The Widow at the Piano, and Blue Chip Stamp Guitar, and a full-length collection, Dining Al Fresco with My Dog. After many years as a newspaper reporter and editor, she earned her MFA in creative writing at Antioch University, Los Angeles in 2003 and has taught workshops in article-writing, creative writing, poetry, and publishing at Oregon Coast Community College, Chemeketa Community College, online, and at meetings and conferences across the country. A former president of OPA and co-founder of the coast chapter of Willamette Writers, she also sings and plays piano, guitar, and mandolin.
Ximena Keogh Serrano
Cartografías del sentir: Un taller de exploración poética desde el cuerpo y los afectos
Ximena Keogh Serrano is a poet and transdisciplinary scholar based in Portland, Oregon. She is an associate professor at Pacific University, where she teaches Latin American and U.S. Latine literary and cultural studies. Ximena writes poetry, critical essays, and public scholarship, with publications in WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, Harbor Review, and S&F Online, as well as in exhibition catalogues for the Ulrich Museum of Art and the Nevada Art Museum. Her manuscript Tongue-Tied has been recognized as a finalist for several national awards, including the Michael Waters Poetry Prize and the Hillary Gravendyk Prize. She has received support for her writing from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and VONA/Voices. For more, visit her website www.ximenakserrano.com or Instagram @xuldelamar