Greetings from Arlo,

Hello, my name is Arlo Arctia! I am a Black nonbinary poet, writer, teacher, and Creative Writing MFA student. My art follows trauma, loneliness, disembodiment, sensuality, identity, and chronic pain. I would describe my lens as vulnerable and reflective. It is challenging readers to face and integrate their shadows; it is challenging them to find home in their darkness and give it a space to breathe.

I wouldn’t categorize my work as self-help but as self-depth. My approach to healing is searching for the varying levels of grief and where they strike in the body. Find knowledge in the body’s sadness by freeing what is haunting not just acknowledging its presence. I am writing for a radical acceptance of grief. 

I am especially focused on working with initiatives for Black, queer, and neurodivergent communities. In the Black community, mental health conversations are still taboo. Generational trauma has made it customary for us to bypass our emotions, but it is important that we confront our pain. We have much to release.