My name is Yomalis (she/her), and I was born & raised in Washington Heights, NYC.

After studying History at Dartmouth College, I worked as a public school teacher for five years. I taught Social Studies, Language Arts, and Dual-Language Social Studies (in Spanish)—mostly at the middle school level. During that time, I received a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Washington.

Now, I care for my two young children full-time and devote all of my spare time to reading, writing & revising poetry, studying craft, and taking on gigs whenever possible. Since devoting myself to poetry, I was awarded a Brooklyn Poets Fellowship in Fall 2023, a Parent-Writer Fellowship from Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing in Spring 2024, and a scholarship for The Seventh Wave’s Digital Residency in Summer 2024. I have poems forthcoming in The Marbled Sigh and Hot Pot Magazine. I’m working on my first chapbook.

I also host a free, weekly Creativity Circle (Oct-Feb, Sundays at 1pm EST), pick up part-time teaching or poetry gigs when I can, write a monthly newsletter, and offer seasonal poetry workshops. Please don’t hesitate to connect. :)