When Arianne True was announced as our seventh Washington State Poet Laureate, my queer poet heart thrilled. I know her to be an incredibly skilled writer and a sensitive, dedicated teacher. Her inclusive, expansively passionate approach to poetry was exactly what I would hope for from the program—serving diverse communities across our state, breaking down barriers to enthusiastically welcome new people to this powerful art form, as both writers and readers. I couldn't wait to see what she would do with her term, and Arianne's thoughtful workshops, readings and events did not disappoint. When I learned that she was "putting together an anthology of poems from queer writers of all stripes across Washington State and adjacent tribal lands" for her Poet Laureate project, my heart thrilled again. The best way I can introduce you to this publication is exactly how I myself was introduced to it, through Arianne's original call for submissions:
"I want to hear from people trying out poetry for the first time, as well as regular writers and widely published poets. I want to include work by folks across spectrums of sexual orientation, gender, and sexuality in general (ace/aro* family, I’m looking at you—send me work!), and from across the full breadth of our state.
Poems can be on any topic. This anthology takes the stance that all art made by queer artists is queer art, whether it draws explicit attention to an identity or not. Send me your love poems, the poem you wrote on the bus or in the park, poems where you wrestle with yourself, poems where you love existing, poems that take a metaphor and run with it, tribute poems, grief poems, ecstatic poems, sleepy poems, poems that barely know what they are or what they’re becoming, I want it all. Traditional and experimental work are both welcomed."
Stewarding this project to completion, reviewing over 800 submissions from a brilliant spectrum of ages, identities, locations, backgrounds and perspectives, I experienced all this and more. SO MUCH MORE. A heartfelt thank you to all who submitted! Immersing myself in all your myriad poems was breathtaking and indescribable, a truly once-in-lifetime journey. I SEE YOU. I also saw Arianne's community impact up close—so many people included notes with their poetry, thanking her for workshops that had sparked new interest and ideas, generated new writing, built new confidence in themselves and their voice. Continuing Arianne's work with the anthology was a huge privilege, and a responsibility I held with care. Her vision for the project let me do the kind of publishing I most believe in: less about judging or critiquing poems, but rather all about loving them, championing them.
Arianne conceived of this anthology as a website, a key strategy for a deeply community-focused publication, uniquely nimble and generous. Her project design gave us space to include so much more than could usually fit in a single anthology—more authors, more subjects and styles, letting queer poetry mean so many more things. We are unabashedly celebrating poetic and queer excellence, but without positioning excellence as being built on exclusion.
Publishing in this form also lets anyone experience this anthology from anywhere, for free. Teachers can do filtered searches for their classes; those who don't have money or space to buy books can access it regardless. And people searching for connection around individual identities can read safely, even in places or living situations where they might otherwise feel isolated from queer community. This is meant to be a community resource, but never an authority. Just as there is no authority on queerness, nor is there one for poetry. Voices are missing and voices are here, voices are ever-changing. So here is this particular Washington State Queer Poetry Anthology, for you, for whatever you may need it for, now or later on. An extravagant and awestruck offering, full of love and care.
– Clare Johnson, Co-Editor
Team Bios
Arianne True, WA State Poet Laureate (2023-2025)
Arianne True (Choctaw, Chickasaw) is a disabled queer poet and teaching artist from Seattle, and has spent most of her work time working with youth. She’s received fellowships and residencies from Jack Straw, Artist Trust, and the Seattle Repertory Theater, among others, and is a proud alum of Hedgebrook and of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She lives in Tacoma with her cat and is always questing for high-quality dairy-free baked goods.
Clare Johnson, Editor
Clare Johnson is a multidisciplinary writer + visual artist interested in celebrating overlooked spaces and histories, opening up connections/empathy by fostering intimacy in places we usually share anonymously. Honors include fellowships from Jack Straw, Hugo House and Crosstown Arts; residencies at Mineral School, Surel’s Place and James Castle House; and publications including Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods' Seattle Histories series, where you can find her lyric essay about growing up queer on Capitol Hill during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 90s. Recent public art projects include a scavenger hunt of art on the backs of traffic signs (currently viewable in West Seattle), a mural around the entrance of DESC's Bloomside permanent supportive housing in Burien, and window art in Cal Anderson Park about HIV and family (the originals from which are on display at Gay City: Seattle's LGBTQ+ Center). Her recently completed hybrid manuscript, Will I live here when I grow up, mixes poetry, memoir, art, family stories and lost queer histories. For almost two decades Clare has also drawn/written on a post-it every night to hold onto something from each ending day, making over 6,000 pieces so far, which were excerpted for years in a monthly Seattle Review of Books lyric essay column. Her new lyric memoir piece for TrailOff, an app combining stories with tailor-made walking routes and sound design, is available for free to experience in Seattle. Follow Clare on IG for more work and projects.
Linnea Ingalls, Project Manager (March 2024 - June 2025)
Linnea Ingalls has the honor of serving Tribes as part of the Tribal Cultural Affairs program, as well as managing the Poet Laureate program during Arianne True’s term. Linnea worked as a theatre artist in Seattle from 2014 - 2019, and received her MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University in 2020. Her matrilineal family have been guests of Coast Salish homelands for three generations. She is pan/bisexual, has infinite gratitude to our queer elders, and wishes rest and joyful dreaming for all authors & readers of the anthology.
Britt Madsen, Project Manager (April 2023 - February 2024)
Britt Madsen was the Washington State Poet Laureate Coordinator for the first year of Arianne's term. She currently works for the Olympia Symphony Orchestra.
H.F., Tech Team
H.F. is a public librarian, writer, and database engineer living in the South Puget Sound area. She worked on the Washington State Queer Poetry Anthology website as part of a team from the University of Washington iSchool, where she studied systems librarianship and the digital humanities.
Kate, Tech Team
Kate is a librarian and person who does stuff with information from the pacific northwest. Every project they've worked on has given them the opportunity to learn a new tool or skill, including the Queer Poetry Anthology. Their work often focuses on knowledge organization, digital preservation, and cultural studies. In other lives, they've also studied Latin and political science.
Drew, Tech Team
Drew Ahlberg is a librarian and oral historian from Oakland, California. They are a graduate of the University of Washington and hold a Masters in Library and Information Science. They also received their Bachelors in English at Cal Poly Humboldt, where they were the Production Manager of Toyon Literary Magazine in 2020. In their spare time they love supporting live art and theatre with their spouse. Working on this project has inspired them to begin writing poetry and queer speculative fiction.