Greetings and Salutations

Welcome to the world of Stephanie Althea West, a Twin Cities poet, editor, and builder of community. My work is rooted in the belief that poetry can stop time, giving shape to the moments that slip by in a blink and offering language to the questions that hover in the soul.

My debut collection celebrates queer love, though my writing reaches beyond to all the ways love shows up in our lives. Love is love is love, and it is the thread that binds us together.

But poetry is only the beginning. I believe in connection. Connection between writers, readers, artists, and dreamers. Writing may begin in solitude, but it flourishes in community. Here, I hope you’ll find not only poems, but also encouragement to uncover your own voice and spaces to share it.

So, welcome. Read, linger, reach out, and join me in weaving words into something bigger than ourselves.

Black vintage typewriter with a blank sheet of paper on white background.

A woman in a white dress and black cardigan is speaking or performing into a microphone inside a cafe or bookstore. Another woman in a dark dress is seated nearby, holding a drink and listening. The background shows windows with city lights outside and a sign with a "W".

A woman with short blonde hair, tattoos on her arm, wearing a sleeveless top and floral skirt, is seated on a stool and looking at her phone while speaking into a microphone on a stand.

A vintage Underwood typewriter on a table, illuminated by a small desk lamp, with open books and glasses nearby, in a dimly lit room.

Stephanie Althea West

Current Projects

Debut Poetry Collection
Arriving in 2026: my first full-length poetry collection, rooted in queer love and the luminous, ordinary moments that make it extraordinary. These are poems of lesbian love, yes, but also poems for anyone who has ever loved, longed, or recognized themselves in the quiet pulse of connection. At its heart, the collection is both specific and universal, because love is love is love.

Haute Dish Annual Anthology
At Metro State, I serve as Managing Editor of Haute Dish, the university’s literary journal. This year we are publishing the first-ever annual anthology in partnership with Oleb Books. It is a milestone that lifts student voices higher and gives their work a permanent home. It is an honor to help shape that future and to celebrate the creative energy of our community.

Community Building
Writing can be lonely work, but our lives do not have to be. I am building spaces where poets, writers, and artists in the Twin Cities can come together, share their work, support one another, and remind each other why we create in the first place. Connection and collaboration make the work feel larger than ourselves, and I want everyone to feel seen, heard, and encouraged.

This Very Website
Even this space is part of the work. I think of it as a gathering place, a digital home for poems, updates, projects, and invitations to connect. My hope is that what begins here spills outward, sparking conversations, inspiration, and community beyond the screen.