Sierra DeMulder

Sierra DeMulder grew up in a tiny town in upstate New York. She first encountered slam poetry at 14 when she watched her father compete (a morbidly embarrassing experience for her). After getting her start with the Intangible Collective in 2007, she moved to Minnesota to pursue her interest in poetry and to slowly freeze to death. Sierra earned "Best Female Poet" at the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational in 2009. Less than two months later, she was awarded a coveted publishing deal from Write Bloody Publishing, which lead to her first full-length book, "The Bones Below", published in January 2010. With Sierra’s help the St. Paul Slam Team won the 2009 National Poetry Slam in West Palm Beach, Florida. Sierra continued on to rank ninth in the world in the Individual World Poetry Slam in Berkeley, California. She was a finalist at the 2010 Women of the World Individual Poetry Slam in Columbus, Ohio. One year later, the Saint Paul Slam Team won the National Poetry Slam, making Sierra one of the only poets to touch every final stage in a calendar year.

Outside of her competitions, Sierra coached the Macalaster College team at the 2010 CUPSI where they placed third in the nation. She also launched her own teaching initiative, in which she conducts weekly poetry classes geared towards aspiring poets of all ages in the Twin Cities community. Sierra has featured in hundreds of venues across the country, performing her poetry and facilitating writing workshops in high schools, colleges, homeless shelters, prisons, churches, farmers’ markets, and people’s basements.

“DeMulder is one of the finest people I know. Her writing is a bastion of youthful wisdom and vigorous, temptuous confessions. Unapologetic in life and authorship, she has a voice that will lead people out of the dark while honoring the complicated beauties of sadness and joy. Read her like family. She is here and so very present.” - Mike McGee.

"...intensely personal..." - Huffington Post