Ellen Welcker’s aesthetic inclinations range from engagement of the lyric to narrative & prose poems. Her work is concerned with ecological desperation, boundaries & borders, the parent-child relationship, & the concept of ‘deep humanity’ as an animal state. Her books include Ram Hands (Scablands Books, 2016), The Botanical Garden (2009 Astrophil Poetry Prize, Astrophil Press, 2010), and five chapbooks, including “Keep Talking” (Sixth Finch Books, 2023). She lives in the US midwest and works for the Bagley Wright Lecture Series on Poetry.