JULIAN GUY
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, on Numu, Shoshone, and Washoe land, Julian (he/him) grew up among sagebrush, stars, wildfires, and animal skulls scattered across the desert. Julian began writing poetry at the age of 17 and fell deeply in love with working-class, contemporary poetry that gave everyday moments their due poetic weight—from grocery shopping, to gas station scratchers, lone coyotes, or smoke-stained skies—Julian’s work considers the practice of writing as intertwined with the practice of living. Anything that bridges, connects, or binds people, accomplishes what all great poets set out to. In this spirit, he invites you to share a bowl of fruit, converse late into the night on the porch, plant seeds, or shovel the neighbor’s drive. Poetry and writing are just as much something we do with our hearts and hands, in care for our communities and world, as they are something we say aloud, write down, or send out for publication.
Julian is a queer and trans writer, educator, and nature enthusiast. He has taught community-accessible writing workshops through the Onondaga Library, the McCormack Writing Center, Ellipsis, and more. He particularly loves working with other writers (new and established), and in leading writing workshops and seminars on grief, queer joy, and craft. Julian’s work has been published and recognized in many journals and magazines, from The Adroit Journal, Catapult, Lesbians are Miracles, the Deerfield Public Library’s Queer Poem-a-Day Podcast, and more. Julian and his pup, Chef, currently reside on the ancestral land of the Onondaga Nation, in Syracuse, NY.
Photo by Yan Palmer