“tell all the truth but tell it slant—”
Natalie is a poet, photographer, visual artist, travel junkie, writer, & all around creative juggernaut based in the Mojave desert. In life & in art she is drawn to the strange & off-kilter.
Her literary work seeks to expand the boundaries of knowledge by investigating language’s etymological & emotional sources; & blurring the lines between science, fantasy, & memory. As an image maker & film/video creator Natalie focuses on exploring the intersection of text & imagery; uncovering truths that are stranger than fiction; & centering diverse voices & unique perspectives. She is interested in a wide range of genres from narrative, to documentary, to experimental. Her visual art explores folk practices, layered materials, & found/recycled objects. Over the past several years she has been developing her theory of Experiential Poetics, which looks to free poetry from the confines of the physical page & engage the reader in a multi-sensory collaborative experience.
Before transitioning behind the camera she was classically trained as an actor & is an alumna of the Andrew Wood Acting Studio & the Beverley Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles, as well as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
Natalie holds a Certificate in Classical Acting from RADA; a B.A. in Poetry/Flash Fiction from Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts; & an M.F.A in Hybrid Poetry from California Institute of the Arts. She is also a Certified Data Management Professional, earning her C.D.M.P. credential in 2025. Her manuscript, missoula., was named a semi-finalist for the 2017 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize, & she was previously a Pushcart Prize nominee. She occasionally publishes poetry, creative criticism, & prose. She recently restarted her poem a day project – writing a new poem every day. Call the poetry hotline to listen to a short poem updated regularly.