Maya Jewell Zeller MFA

Biography

Maya Jewell Zeller is an award-winning poet, essayist, educator, and editor; recipient of fellowships and residencies from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Centrum, Artist Trust, University of Oxford, and the H.J. Andrews Experimental Research Forest. Her most recent books include the memoir Raised by Ferns (Porphyry Press); lyric guide to fungi phenomena, The Wonder of Mushrooms (AdventureKEEN); and the poetry collection out takes/ glove box, selected by Eduardo Corral as winner of the 2022 New American Poetry Prize; she is also co-author, with Kathryn Nuernberger, of Advanced Poetry: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology (Bloomsbury); and co-editor, with Sharma Shields, of the multi-genre anthology Evergreen: Grim Tales & Verses From the Gloomy Northwest (Scablands Books), as well as other poetry titles and poetry-art collaborations. In addition to her role as affiliate faculty in Western Colorado University’s Poetry and Nature Writing low-residency MFA programs, Maya teaches writing and publishing for Central Washington University. She lives in the Inland Northwest with her children—with whom she likes to paddle board, hike, read, play, and get as close to the forest floor as possible.