bio

​Ariana Brown is a queer Black Mexican American poet from the Southside of San Antonio, Texas. Ariana holds a B.A. in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies from UT Austin as well as an MFA in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets Prizes and a 2014 national collegiate poetry slam champion. She has been writing, performing, and teaching poetry for ten years.

​Ariana's work investigates queer Black personhood, affirmation and care for Black gender marginalized people, and loneliness. In January 2020, Ariana released Sana Sana, her debut poetry chapbook from Game Over Books. She has also recorded a digital EP titled LET US BE ENOUGH, available on Bandcamp.

Ariana has performed her work and led writing workshops across the country at venues such as the Killeen Natural Hair and Health Expo, Harvard University, Tucson Poetry Festival, and the San Francisco Opera Theatre. When she is not onstage, she is probably eating an avocado, listening to Brandy, or validating Black girl rage in all its miraculous forms. Follow Ariana on Twitter and Instagram @arianathepoet.

selected interviews

The Adroit Journal: "I belong in my community": A Conversation with Ariana Brown and Mia S. Willis
The Tempest: Ariana Brown's poetry powerfully captures life as a queer person of color
MUD Magazine: Ariana Brown on "Sana Sana"
Sampsonia Way: The Spiritual Work of Poetry: An Interview with Ariana Brown
Sobremesa Podcast: Interview with Poet Ariana Brown
Soy Texas: Ariana Brown
VIDA: Women in Literary Arts: Voices of Bettering American Poetry Volume 2 - Ariana Brown
Rivard Report: 'The Writers Desk' with Spoken Word Poet Ariana Brown
Huffington Post: Ariana Brown at the Tucson Poetry Festival