Maren Schiffer is a poet, writer, and educator currently based in Lenapehoking, Brooklyn, NY. Categories are categories, but they live within those of the mad and neuroqueer. (They are also a swimmer.) They received their M.F.A in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Montana and her B.A. from Whitman College. She is the recipient of a 2023 Massachusetts Cultural Grant for Artists and a 2018 Academy of American Poets University Prize, selected by Jane Wong; they were a finalist for the 2022 Wisconsin Institute of Creative Writing Fellowship and a semi-finalist for the 2021 Tomaž Šalamun Prize, judged by Sawako Nakayasu.

Maren teaches poetry and writing workshops for community organizations locally and in the virtual sphere. She has also taught first-year writing and poetry at Boston College, UMass Lowell, University of Montana, and Suffolk University, including “Writing the Future: Poetry and Collective Action” at Suffolk University. They received institutional recognition from Suffolk for their dedicated support of students. Outside of universities, they work with families and kids, specializing in neurodivergent learning and support, as well as with arts and cultural organizations fundraising for creative initiatives and projects.

You can reach them at marenschiffer@gmail.com