Jennifer Metsker is a poet, writer, and multimedia artist. She attended the University of Oregon (B.A. Fine Art), The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Post-Baccalaureate in Painting), and The University of Michigan (MFA Poetry). She taught creative writing and composition at the University of Michigan for ten years and is now the Writing Coordinator at the Stamps School of Art and Design. Her book of poetry Hypergraphia and Other Failed Attempts at Paradise won the Editor’s Choice Award from New Issues Press. It addresses mental illness, particularly psychosis, which is one of her key areas of research. She provides creative reflection workshops to psychiatric resident doctors at the University of Michigan and aims to increase awareness about the struggles of those with mental illness as well as improve mental health care. She has had essays on mental illness published in the anthologies Show Me All Your Scars and The Shell Game. Her poetry has been published in The Southern Review, The Michigan Quarterly, Cream City Review, Birdfeast, The Journal and many other journals. She has had poems selected to be included on Verse Daily and Poetry Daily and her audio poetry has been featured on the BBC radio show Short Cuts. She is also interested in collaborative work. If you’re interested in working with her or have any questions about her or her work, please feel free to contact her at jmetsker@umich.edu.