Sarah A. Chavez

Sarah A. Chavez (she/ella/they) is a proud mestiza writer, educator, and literary community advocate born and raised in the California Central Valley, making their way in the Pacific Northwest. They are the author of the full-length poetry collection, Hands That Break & Scar (Sundress Publications), as well as three chapbooks, Halfbreed Helene Navigates the Whole (Ravenna Press, Triple Series), like everything else we loved (Porkbelly Press), and All Day, Talking (dancing girl press). Recent publications are forthcoming in the Mississippi Review and Deep Vines: 60 Fresno Writers for the 21st Century from Scrub Jay Press. Chavez’s writing has been supported by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Project Grant (2020-21 & 2025-26), Dorland Mountain Arts, The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, and the Macondo Writers Workshop, among others. A Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, Chavez’s writing explores the complexity of intersectional identity performance—particularly in regard to race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, and socioeconomics—with special interest in cultural expressions of grief and mourning.  

Chavez moved to Washington state in 2018 to join the faculty at the University of Washington Tacoma where they teach Creative Writing and Latinx Studies and serve as the Associate Dean of Faculty & Equity/Inclusion. They also serve as co-coordinator of the annual UW Tacoma Poetry Festival: Between the Lines. When not writing, they can be found foraging in their Hilltop backyard, walking a scruffy pup, or staring at the sky through the branches of a grandfather cherry tree.