Darlene Elias is a writer and poet from Western Massachusetts whose work lives at the intersection of identity, resistance, and radical imagination. She uses literature, poetry, and spoken word to elevate and affirm her experiences as part of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States.Through her writing, Darlene challenges dominant narratives, reclaims voice, and creates space for stories that are often unheard but deeply felt. Her work centers truth, vulnerability, and liberation, inviting others to imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities.
Darlene is the co-founder of the Writing Sisters, a collective of BIPOC and LGBTQ women who work to nurture their craft, amplify their voices, and build community through storytelling and activism. Darlene is also the recipient of the 2026 Kent Alexander Radical Imagination award, the 2026 Multi Cultural Council and Valley Creates Capacity Building Grants, and the proud 2025 Emerging Writer Straw Dog Writer's Guild Fellow. She takes pride in actively giving back to her community and learning from her peers. Darlene is currently working on her memoir.
