About Me

Darlene M. Pagán was born in Chicago, IL to a Puerto Rican father and a German/Czech mother. She earned a PhD in the Humanities and has published essays and poetry that reflect her deep interest in identity, language, culture, family, and the environment. Her poetry has earned Pushcart nominations and Best of the Net, and an essay about her parent’s interracial marriage, “In the House of Lovers,” won Literal Latté’s national nonfiction award. Her book of poems, Setting the Fires (Airlie Press 2015), was nominated for the Eric Hoffer Award. She teaches at Pacific University in Oregon where she lives with her family, and enjoys hiking along the beach and in the woods, where she still climbs trees.