THEA MATTHEWS is a poet of African and Indigenous Mexican descent originally from San Francisco, CA. She holds an MFA in poetry from New York University and a BA in sociology from UC Berkeley. Her poetry has appeared in the Obsidian Lit & Arts in the African Diaspora, The Massachusetts Review, Alta Journal, The New Republic, and others. Her first book, Unearth [The Flowers] (Red Light Lit Press), was chosen for Kirkus Reviews' Best Indie Poetry of 2020. In 2023, she was poet in residence at the Museum of African Diaspora, and programming curator at UC Berkeley's Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. She teaches creative writing, is an editor, and lives in Brooklyn, NY.