Contributors

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

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

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

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).

Porter Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo)

Porter Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo) is the executive director of the Kha’p’o Community School. Porter also currently serves as tribal secretary for Santa Clara Pueblo, a regent for Northern New Mexico College, as well as on several non-profit boards. Previously, Porter was an associate professor of Indigenous Liberal Studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts where he also served as a department chair and associate dean. He holds a PhD in Justice Studies from Arizona State University, an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Western New Mexico University, a BA in Integrated Studies from Northern New Mexico College, and is currently finishing up his MBA from WNMU.