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For over a century, El Palacio has been a forum for voices exploring New Mexico’s art, archaeology, history, and landscape. Explore the writers, photographers, historians, and scientists whose perspectives have defined the magazine’s pages—past and present.
Arthur Sze is the current U.S. Poet Laureate. Sze is a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of twelve books, including Into the Hush, Sight Lines, and others. Sze’s poems have been translated into fifteen languages, and he is the recipient of the National Book Award among many other honors. He lives in Santa Fe.
Deborah Jackson Taffa is a citizen of the Quechan Nation and Laguna Pueblo. Her memoir Whiskey Tender was a 2024 National Book Award Finalist and was longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Taffa serves as the director of the MFA in creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Cara Romero is an award-winning contemporary fine art photographer. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero’s expansive oeuvre has been informed by formal training in film, digital, fine art, and commercial photography. She maintains a studio in Santa Fe, regularly participates in Native American art fairs, and was featured in PBS’ Craft in America (2019).
Sahra Ali is a nomadic Somali-American writer and diversity and equity consultant based in Vermont. Ali is fascinated with creating dialogue around equity through productive and meaningful engagement. Currently, she is working on her first poetry collection while studying Somali phonetics with a goal of translating her work to Somali.
![A close-up view of tall grasses and reeds with green, brown, and reddish hues growing densely near the edge of a body of water. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/8-1-3-400x225.jpg)
By Sahra AliPaintings by Noël Hudson “You have to get in the middle. The natural current will take you down the river.” I was told this upon entering the Rio Grande in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It was June and incredibly hot. My friend, her mom, and I rented floating tubes. We each had life jackets, though I would be the one who would need it the most, since I could not swim.
