Alison Lubar is a queer, biracial Nikkei poet and educator who teaches literature to teenagers, writing to adults, and yoga to all ages. They’re the author of two full-length poetry books, The Other Tree, winner of Harbor Editions’ 2023 Laureate Prize, and METAMOURPHOSIS (fifth wheel press, 2024), as well as four chapbooks: Philosophers Know Nothing About Love (Thirty West, 2022), queer feast (Bottlecap Press, 2022), sweet euphemism (Mouthfeel Press, 2023), It Skips a Generation (Stanchion, 2023), and a microchap, American Kintsugi (Bull City Press, 2026). Alison is also a board member for Philadelphia’s Blue Stoop. Find out more at http://www.alisonlubar.com/.

2026 Poets

'Interstellar Storyteller' Reet Starwind is an author, activist, and educator who works in the Camden community. He is the creator and host of the city's longest-running late-night poetry workshop, 'the midnight notes,' organized in partnership with Nick Virgilio Haiku Association and Rutgers University-Camden. An alumnus of the University, Starwind is a frequent partner and guest speaker - lending his voice to a variety of events from graduations to flag-raising ceremonies. He sees creativity as the world's greatest hope and celebrates every opportunity to lift up one another with a word.

John Wojtowicz grew up working on his family’s azalea and rhododendron nursery and still lives in the backwoods of South Jersey. He’s been featured on Rowan University's Writer's Roundtable on 89.7 WGLS-FM and Painted Bride Quarterly's Slush Pile Podcast. Publications include: Rattle, New Ohio Review, Waxing & Waning, Gigantic Sequins, and Driftwood. He has been nominated 4x for the Pushcart Prize. His chapbook, No Lightsabers in the Kitchen, was selected as a winner of the 2025 Poetry Box Chapbook contest. When not writing poetry, he enjoys monitoring bluebird boxes, flipping horseshoe crabs, and rolling around in the yard. Find out more at: www.johnwojtowicz.com