Lauren Brazeal Garza is the author of four books of poetry and fiction, including her memoir-in-verse, Gutter, which chronicles her homelessness as a teenager. Her most recent chapbook, Santa Muerte, Santa Muerte: I was Here, Release Me, features fictional interviews with ghosts. She earned her M.F.A in creative writing from Bennington College and her Ph.D. in Literature from The University of Texas at Dallas, with a specialty in testimonial literature and narratives from marginalized voices. Lauren teaches literature at UT Dallas and regularly offers creative writing workshops at independent writing schools like Writing Workshops (partnered with Electric Lit) and Hudson Valley Writers’ Center.