Dena Rod is a queer Iranian American poet and essayist who focuses on illuminating their diasporic experiences. Described by The Bold Italic as a “verbose advocate,” they’ve been widely published in literary journals and anthologies such as My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora, Butter Press, The Racket, and sPARKLE & bLINK. In 2020, they debuted the chapbook swallow a beginning, toured with RADAR Production’s Sister Spit, and joined the Rumpus features team. Scattered Arils is their first poetry collection. Connect with Dena on Twitter/Instagram: @alightningrod, or at their website, denarod.com.