Biography

Ava Leavell Haymon is a poet, playwright, and teacher.  Her poems have appeared in journals and chapbooks nationwide and in three collections from LSU Press, most recently, Why the House Is Made of Gingerbread, which was chosen by Women's Voices for Change as one of the ten best poetry books in 2010.  She holds the Louisiana Literature prize for poetry in 2003, the L.E. Phillabaum Poetry Award for 2010, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters 2010 Award in Poetry. She teaches poetry writing in Louisiana during the school year, directs an artists and writers retreat center in New Mexico, and edits the Barataria Poetry Series from LSU Press.  Her latest poetry collection, Eldest Daughter, was released in Fall 2013. She served as the Poet Laureate of Louisiana from 2013-2015.