About
Triston Dabney is a Baltimore-born poet and undergraduate Oprah Winfrey Scholar. A Best of the Net nominee and Button Poetry finalist, his work appears in Obsidian, BreakBread Magazine, and The Elevation Review. His debut poetry collection, Moments as They Are (Fernwood Press, 2026), explores Blackness, queerness, and memory through lyrical storytelling and spiritual inquiry.
Extended Bio / My Story
I began writing poetry during a hospital stay, searching for language that could hold memory, grief, queerness, and survival. Raised in Baltimore, my work is shaped by gospel, porch stories, ancestral echoes, and my love for small moments that carry big truths.
With no formal training, I built a literary path through persistence—cold-emailing poets, running community writing programs, and earning the support of artists like Nate Marshall, Javon Johsnon and the Lucille Clifton House. My poetry is both testimony and offering. I hope it makes someone feel seen.