Crystal Valentine is a nationally and internationally acclaimed poet who has traveled across seas performing on platforms in Paris, Brazil, Botswana, South Africa and elsewhere. She was named Glamour Magazine's 2016 College Woman of the Year, Teen Vogue's Rising Young Black Thought Leader, and was the recipient of the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders Woman’s Distinction Award. A Callaloo Fellow and former New York City Youth Poet Laureate, Crystal’s work has been featured on programming for MSNBC, Blavity, Button Poetry, BET, CNN, The New York Daily News and more. She earned her B.A in Psychology at New York University, where she returned to also earn her MFA in poetry.

Crystal is a generator and fierce protector of black joy, and strongly believes that intersectionality is a key factor in liberation. As a queer, black, woman, a lot of her work revolves around bridging the ever present gap between her identities. Her goal is to provide a sanctuary within her poems that can be accessible to ALL black people: queer, trans, women, gender non conforming, disabled, poor, loud, angry, ghetto, for it is when all of these voices are present and accounted for that we can really begin the gruesome work of understanding and breaking down systematic oppression. Above all, Crystal loves her kin. She currently divides her time between curating writing workshops and working with Mass Poetry as the festival manager for the 2021 Massachusetts Festival.