Writer's Bio

Dahlia Aguilar is an emergent Chicana writer and daughter of El Paso and Corpus Christi, Texas. Dahlia earned her Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in English from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from TAMU-CC, and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Administration from Trinity University- Washington, DC. An educator of over 28 years, she now works as a consultant and writer.  She has completed three manuscripts of poetry including Tidal Range which was a finalist for the Louise Bogan Poetry Award (*Trio Press). She is an alum of Under the Volcano, Macondo, and Elk River Writing Residencies.

Dahlia’s poetry has appeared in Acentos Review 2024, Journal X,  the Skinny Poetry Journal and more. Her work appears in various anthologies including  Somos Xicanas (Riot of Roses Press)  on Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies' most anticipated books of 2024 and NYU's The Latinx Project 'La Treintena 2025: Books and Chapbooks of Latina/o/e/x Poetry and other collections like Boundless: 2025 the anthology of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival and Write Until You Cry (Flowersong Press).   

She lives in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. with her son, two dogs and menopause.

After a beloved decades' long career as a public school educator and leader, I turned fifty and decided to return to myself, my writer's self.  I reinvested in my craft and doubled down on art as part of my vocation and purpose on this planet. It is a gift of midlife to reflect, purge, renew, and begin again.  Should I be so luckily as to have as much life ahead as I do behind, I want it spent in story, poetry, and art.  I want to use my voice to bear witness, because our children's history lessons are born from our actions today.  

I am committed to the stories that don't get told, and to reexamine and rewrite popular narratives that dominate our lives even as they exclude the voices  and perspectives of those most impacted by them.  It is to rewrite this existence. 

To dream again is to know that a new universe is within reach--

todo al alcance.