Aris Kian

Aris Kian (she/her) is a Houston-born and -based writer, poet, and spoken word artist. Her poems have been published in West Branch, Obsidian Lit, The West Review, and other journals. Kian’s poetry performances have been featured on the online video-based poetry platforms Button Poetry and Write About Now. As an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellow, she received her MFA from the University of Houston and received the 2022 Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize in Creative Writing. She ranked first in the 2024 Southern Fried Poetry Slam with the team Smoke Slam coached by Ebony Stewart and ranked second in the 2023 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam. Kian is a part of the 2023 BIPOC Artist and Network Fund cohort and is a 2023–2024 Creative Catalyst Fellow collaborating alongside Sonny Mehta. She previously served as the 2023-2025 Houston Poet Laureate and was chosen as a 2025 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow. Kian is a student of abolition and grassroots organizing.