Raised in the Pacific Northwest, S. Salazar has always felt at home in the mountains. As an English teacher, she strove to show students that success isn’t defined by background.

S. is a mixed Puerto Rican author who's been published in Harpur Palate, The Acentos Review, Booth Journal, Poet Lore, The Offing, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative and Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University, where even postgraduate, she’s juggling multiple poetry manuscripts that explore generational trauma, identity, Latinx heritage, diaspora, and mental health.

Her debut poetry collection Raíces, Relics, and Other Ghosts (Kelsay Books, 2023) received 3 honorable mentions for the International Latino Book Awards. Her book examines topics of disconnection and reconnection to her Puerto Rican roots through trial and error, genealogical exploration, and the search for long-separated familia.

When she isn’t writing, she can be found hiking with loved ones, talking to her parrot, Gizmo, and gushing over every dog she sees.