From notes to manuscript | Lauren Rich at the Poetry Table | Gather Poets

From notes to manuscript | Lauren Rich at the Poetry Table | Gather Poets

Lauren Rich is a poet and a social worker from the Chicagoland area. Lauren writes a lot about girl/womanhood, relationships, and female rage. She is working on her first poetry manuscript which investigates how one can be both prey and predator, destroyed and defiant, harmed and harmful. The collection explores integrating one’s damage while refusing victimhood and redemption. Connect with Lauren on Instagram @laurenrichwrites.

Poetry & Vulnerability | Allison Mei- Li | Gather Poets

Allison Mei-Li is a poet, mother, and speech therapist living in California. Her writing has appeared in journals such as Rust & Moth, MER Literary, Voicemail Poems, and Wildscape. She was recently shortlisted for poetry prizes by Central Avenue and The Alpine Fellowship. To learn more about her forthcoming collection, visit writtenbyallison.com [http://writtenbyallison.com] or connect with her on IG @writtenbyallison.

The Making of The Size of Your Joy | Elise Powers + Michelle Halket

Elise Powers received a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University. Her poems reflect on identity, womanhood, and the ordinary moments that make up a life. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies including Gather and Only Poems, and has been shortlisted for the Central Avenue Poetry Prize, awarded second place in the Black Horse Review Poetry Contest, and nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology. Her debut poetry collection, The Size of Your Joy, is forthcoming from Central Avenue Publishing in spring 2026. She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter, where she writes, collects sea glass, and savors life’s tender joys. Find more of her work on Instagram @elisepowerspoet and on Substack at Two Raw Sugars.Michelle Halket is the Publisher of Central Avenue, a small-but-mighty press of poetry and fiction, and a proud techno- and bibliophile with a background in economic and market research. After seventeen years at the helm of Central Avenue, she is happily immersed in words, paper stock, and devices of all kinds. She’s the sort of person who asks a lot of questions, tries most things at least once, keeps a growing collection of started-but-unfinished projects, and does her best to learn something useful from every misstep along the way.

Grief & Poetry | jp thorn | Gather Poets

jp thorn is a queer, neurodivergent artist raised in & returned to the bible belt. advocate for destigmatization & radically open communication, their work is inspired by humanness, reframing traditionalism, therapeutic processes, unlearning patriarchy, identity, & global patterns. they’re also a pushcart & best of the net 2025 nominee. you can find more of their works at www.thorn.jp

Healing & Creativity | Bri Gearhart Staton at the Poetry Table | Gather Poets

Bri Gearhart Staton (she/her) is a South Dakota poet whose writing explores experiences that exist in the periphery. Bri’s poetry has been published by Button Poetry, FLARE, Wildscape, The Page Gallery Journal, Livina Press, and in a number of anthologies, including the Gather anthology. A mother of two, her objectively hilarious children are the joys of her heart. Connect with her on Instagram @bristaton.writes