Arlene DeMaris

Arlene Demaris is a poet and freelance writer. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, she now lives in Avon, Connecticut, with her husband, Michael, and two cats. Her poetry has appeared in Maine Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Radar Poetry, Connecticut River Review, Naugatuck River Review, and other publications, and is forthcoming in Bellevue Literary Review and Bear Review (Spring 2026). She received a 2024 Connecticut Poetry Award (first place) and a 2023 Nutmeg Poetry Award (third place) from the Connecticut Poetry Society, of which she is a member. Additionally, she was a finalist for the 2025 Missouri Review Editors’ Prize and Bear Review’s 2026 Michelle Boisseau Prize, and a semifinalist for Grid Books’ 2025 Off the Grid Prize. She holds an MFA in Writing & Literature from Bennington College (2024) and is currently working on her debut full-length collection, Instructions for Use, as well as a chapbook, An Afternoon of Uncertain Pleasures.