Rena Priest is a writer and enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. Priest’s writing draws on history, science, and culture to tell stories and ask questions. Priest served as the 6th Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and was named the 2022 Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow by the University of Washington Libraries. With a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets, she edited the anthology I Sing the Salmon Home, winner of the 2024 Washington State Book Award for poetry. Her nonfiction has appeared in High Country News, Seattle Met, Adventures Northwest, Nautilus Magazine, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.
