Laura Walker grew up in rural North Carolina and now lives in Berkeley, California. She is the author of six books of poetry: psalmbook (Apogee Press, 2022), story (Apogee Press, 2016), Follow-Haswed (Apogee Press, 2012), bird book (Shearsman Books, 2011), rimertown/an atlas (UC Press, 2008), and swarm lure (Battery Press, 2004), and two chapbooks: bird book (Albion Books, 2010) and genesis (above/ground press, 2023) . red, a reinhabiting of Little Red Riding Hood, won the Alma Book Award and will be published by Saturnalia Books in 2027. Her poetry has also appeared in various journals, including New American Writing, VOLT, Ambush, Thermos, and Fact-Simile, among others.  Laura has taught poetry at San Francisco State University, University of San Francisco’s MFA in Writing program, UC Berkeley Extension, and in the Berkeley public schools.