Narya Rose Deckard, MFA

is a poet and backyard farmer. Originally from the mountains of Maryland, she currently lives in Valdese, NC with her husband, dog, five cats, and eight chickens. She spent ten years in Asheville where she studied literature and philosophy at UNC Asheville for her undergraduate degree, all the while appropriately caffeinated by working as a barista. She also holds an Associates of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies from South College. Her next schooling endeavor earned her an MFA in Poetry and Narrative Medicine from Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Thomas Wolfe Center for Narrative.

She is the author of Wolfcraft, her debut book of poems, which won Broken Tribe Press’s 2024 MFA Graduate Award.

Because “student” always seemed to be her answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (and “hermit” didn’t satisfy anyone), she now teaches writing at Lenoir-Rhyne University and occasional community creative writing classes.