Maya Williams 

Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is the seventh poet laureate of Portland, ME from July 2021 to July 2024. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for the New England Book Award. They also have a second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023). Maya served as a Better Together Coach during their undergrad at East Carolina University and was an Interfaith Innovation Fellow with their best friend Mia Stewart-Willis (they/them) through their online discussion series on entertainment media’s depiction of suicide: Dying/Laughing. Follow her at mayawilliamspoet.com.