Tara A. Elliott

A brain aneurysm survivor, daughter of a mother lost to Primary Progressive Aphasia, and proud mom of a neurodivergent son, my understanding of how the brain processes memory and language has become vital to my writing. Intentional evocation of memory for my readers is created through careful tension between sensory imagery and shared emotion. Mentored by Lucille Clifton—who taught me that poetry is built not from what we know, but from what we wonder—my work relies on deliberate cadence, lineation, and the living textures of rural Eastern Shore life.

My current manuscript-in-progress centers on the Fibonacci sequence—tracking these natural logarithmic spirals across the physical landscape and the cellular synapse, while examining personal grief to explore what endures when minds, bodies, and visions alter. Because I live and work with Macular Telangiectasia Type 2, my editing process is deeply physical, using large print, tactile lineation, and high-contrast pages to listen to the line. Strongly influenced by Elizabeth Bishop’s meticulous eye and Clifton’s enduring lineage, my poetry examines the spirals found in nature, memory, and what ultimately makes us human.

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