celina mcmanus (they/them) is a poet and educator from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, territory of the Cherokee, now living in St. Paul, MN, Dakota and Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) land. they were of the first cohort to graduate from the Randolph MFA program where they were a poetry editor for Revolute. their work has been featured in journals such as Hooligan Magazine, Peach Mag, and ALOCASIA, which published their invented form, the transidyll. they were a Best of the Net Nominee in 2019, 2022, and 2023. they teach English, Environmental Literature, Creative Writing, and Climate Fiction at Century College. their manuscript, saltmouth, was a semi-finalist with both The Journal and Sundress and a finalist with Airlie Press. find testimonials from students at the end of the page and subscribe to their newsletter for publication news and/or send an inquiry below.
Selected Work
Published in petrichor and nominated for Best of the Net, sixty-six trash odes came to life in February 2019 and was resurrected July 2021 at the Sundress Academy for the Arts Residency. In that February, I collected every piece of landfill trash I would have otherwise tossed. At the end of the month, I taped the trash to my wall and wrote to each morsel. The first iteration was mostly small bits of lines, a chunk of text that also felt disposable. I wasn’t sure what I had in mind for it. But as if the poem had been composted, I found it in my drafts at the writer’s residency—I could see the life in it. I then reworked the odes in the liminal space of each item, letting the form dictate when the page was finished. I hope you are able to find surprise and even joy in the reflection and grief of our linear economy.
“dirt/glass” included a physical representation of a poem-on-the-page in the shape of a coke bottle titled “smile.” I filled a glass coke bottle I had saved with the remnants of my recently trampled garden. An essay was attached to my installation. The exhibit was called “Mending,” and was featured at the mobile art gallery in Stillwater, Minnesota. Here is the exhibit’s description:
The exhibit, organized with guest curator William G. Franklin, features a selection of damaged objects from local and regional artists that will serve as a catalyst for a conversation on personal histories, human fragility, anxiety and hopes for the future.
“One could say that the works in this exhibit have been rescued by the artists from an otherwise abandoned existence and granted a new timely mission, to facilitate a needed reflection on our human condition, vulnerabilities, and hopes in this time of crisis,” says Franklin. “Bringing together histories from a diverse group of participants, the exhibit aims at conjuring a unique total experience for the visitors. ArtReach’s mobile gallery is literally the vehicle to make this possibility a reality.”
“bog baby” is a transidyll, which is my invented form. It is inspired by the recreation of the pastoral into necropastoral. The transidyll, then, takes the narration and attention of nature to a queer poetics, one where the idyll is no longer simply picturesque but holistic, where the only utopia is yearning.
“smile!” is the companion poem for the “dirt/glass” installation. It is published in Beaver Magazine. The painting was done by Gabriela Jazmin Caloca.
These poems are published in the Queer Voices chapbook. Queer Voices is a Twin Cities based LGBTQIA+ reading and performance series up since since 1993.
"ink" is published in The University of Miami's literary journal, Sinking City.
These two poems are published in Cobra Milk's second edition.
This poem is published in Peach Mag, which includes a video compilation and reading in Peach Bites.
These two poems are published in Landfill Journal via Ursus Americanus.
This poem is published in Hooligan Magazine's 24th Issue as part of Spilled Ink.
This poem is published in Rabid Oak's "After a Film" series and was nominated for Best of the Net.
This short climate fiction piece is published in About Place's On Rivers issue.
Please see testimonials to the right from Celina's students at Century College.
Climate Fiction Student
nearly everything in this class felt well placed, connected, and important. Many of my experiences with English classes in the past have been littered with dense readings that felt like busywork, but this was a nice change of pace. I was regularly invested in the readings, rather than dreading them, and I felt like due to the subject of climate fiction and the importance of the climate crisis, this all mattered in a way that was meaningful. This class inspired me to get more into reading again, something that I used to do as a kid but repeated English work in high school and earlier college courses overwhelmed me with and dulled my desire for. Even poetry, something that I appreciated but never really explored, is something that feels more interesting and inspiring after this course. I really had a great time with this class, and you were a fantastic professor. I wish I could've experienced more classes like this in my time at Century.
Ethics and Environment Student
I learned from this course that there isn’t just one decision we can take to make this problem [over-consumption] go away, it takes a bunch of small [steps]...Through this class, I have learned how discussion, community, and behavior are the most successful tools to do your part to help create a healthier planet.
Composition Student
I really have appreciated the two classes I took with you. They made me reevaluate my style of writing and add new creative ways to make it better than I thought it could be. I loved how each class looked at different writers and their approaches to storytelling, which made me reflect on how I could use diction and syntax in new and creative ways. Thank you for guiding me on this writing journey and making it so enjoyable.