ABOUT
The daughter of Ecuadorian and Dominican immigrants, Michelle Moncayo is a poet living and working in New Jersey. She is deeply influenced by her immigrant upbringing, including it often in her poetry.
Recently diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, she explores the span of mental illness in her work. In addition to this, Michelle writes about her family history of breast cancer and queer identity.
Her debut chapbook, Here on This 76L, won the Alta California Prize and was published bilingually by Gunpowder Press in 2025. She received a 2020 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Michelle has received fellowships from SPACE at Ryder Farm, Vermont Studio Center, Sundress Academy for the Arts, CantoMundo, and VONA. Her poetry has appeared in Architectures of Future Antepasados, Até Mais: An Anthology of Latinx Futurisms, Broadsided Press, No Tender Fences: An Anthology of Immigrant & First-Generation American Poetry, and has been published in Bellingham Review, Bodega Magazine, Palette Poetry, & Ninth Letter.
She received her M.F.A in Poetry from Randolph College.
