Maya Williams

Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently the seventh poet laureate of Portland, ME from July 2021 to July 2024. Ey has published poems in venues such as The Portland Press Herald, The Cortland Review, FreezeRay, Indianapolis Review, Amjambo Africa!, glitterMOB, Maine Arts Journal, Black Table Arts, and more.

Their debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide will be published May 2023 via Game Over Books, and their second collection Refused a Second Date will be published October 2023 via Harbor Editions. She has received residencies from Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA), Voices of Our Nation Arts (VONA) Foundation, The For Us by Us Fund’s Words of Fire Retreat, Hewnoaks Artist Colony, and The Watering Hole. Maya was one of three artists of color selected to represent Maine in The Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America series in 2020, and was listed as one of The Advocate’s Champions of Pride in 2022. Maya also serves as MaineTransNet's Community Care Program Coordinator, where they develop educational material on trauma informed trans cultural competency, provide outreach to incarcerated trans folks, and develop arts programming. Follow more of eir work at mayawilliamspoet.com.