Ollie Schminkey (they/them) has spent the past decade coaching, mentoring, teaching classes, and running workshops for poets. They’ve performed poems in 21 states, and their work has been published everywhere from Frontier Poetry to Poets.org. They are the author of two full-length collections through Button Poetry, Where I Dry the Flowers and Dead Dad Jokes, with a third book forthcoming this spring. They are the founder and director of the slam poetry tournament Midwest Poetry Mash-Up, and their work has been supported by the Minnesota Regional Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board. You can also find them teaching classes through Writers.com, making pottery, or playing with their cat Pete, who is always trying to eat things he shouldn’t.
