Elise Houcek

Elise Houcek is a poet, visual artist, and writer based in Michigan and Chicago, who has also taught creative writing to children and runs Ludi Juvenales, a series publishing the immature work of established writers. Her books include TRACTATUS (Spuyten Duyvil) and the chapbook So Neon Was the Rope (dancing girl press). She was a 2025 resident at Art Farm in Nebraska, listed for three weeks in poetry, performance, and mixed media, and has earlier interned there. Her work has also been supported by a fellowship from the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for environmental education. Her collaborative poet's novel From the Pocket of Agent Dickinson, co-written with Zack Darsee, was published by Inside the Castle in 2025. Recent writing has appeared in FENCE, Diva Corp, R&R Magazine, and Vestiges.