Yael Valencia Aldana is a Black-Latine poet and writer. She is the author of the poetry collection Black Mestiza (University Press of Kentucky, 2025) and the chapbook Alien(s) from (Bottlecap Press 2023). She is a Pushcart Prize winner, and her work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. She is the Editor in Chief at Purple Ink Press. She is also an editor on the books Chameleon Chimera: An Anthology of Florida Poets, The Bimbo Feminist Anthology, and the upcoming El Mundo Zurdo: a Gloria Anzaldúa Anthology. She teaches creative writing in South Florida, where she lives near the ocean with her family and too many pets. You can find her online at YaelAldana.com.