Marie Marchand

Marie Marchand has been writing poetry for 35 years to discover healing for herself and the world. In April 2022, she was named the first Poet Laureate of Ellensburg, WA. She gives readings and workshops to diverse audiences, including youth, elders, and people in recovery. Her poetry has been published in Crannóg Magazine, Catamaran Literary Reader, California Quarterly, Paterson Literary Review, Tiny Seed Journal, Anti-Heroin Chic, and The Awakenings Review. Her second poetry collection Gifts to the Attentive was published by Winter Goose Publishing in May 2022. Her poetry has been recognized by the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards, Wyoming Writers, and Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest. She is a graduate of Naropa University and The Iliff School of Theology where she studied psychology, religion, and peacemaking. As a community leader and mental health advocate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Marie strives to change the narrative around mental health by sharing her story to inspire hope and healing. As a poet with lived experience of bipolar disorder, she believes that poetry is an affirmation of resilience and a testament to the triumph of hope over despair.