Bellingham Review Contributor
Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is from the Upper Skagit and Nooksack Indian Tribes. Native to the Pacific Northwest she draws inspiration from her coastal heritage as well as her life in the city. She’s the author of the poetry collection Rose Quartz (Milkweed, 2023) and Red Paint (Counterpoint, 2022), recipient of 2023’s Pacific Northwest Book Award, as well as starred reviews from Kirkus and Shelf Awareness. She writes with a focus on trauma and resilience, ranging topics from PTSD, sexual violence, the work her great grandmother did for the Lushootseed language revitalization, to loud basement punk shows and what it means to grow up mixed heritage. Sasha teaches creative writing at the Native Pathways Program at Evergreen and is a mentor for Seattle’s youth poet laureate program. Her essay collection Thunder Song is forthcoming in March 2024 through Counterpoint Press.
With her award-winning memoir Red Paint (Counterpoint, 2022), Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe has emerged as a writer who can convey deeply personal material while delighting readers with her mastery of language and formal experimentation. With her…