SWWIM: Lisa Rhoades & Yael Valencia Aldana

SWWIM Reading Series at The Betsy Writer's Room presents eight celebrated women poets in residence, September 2025-April 2026. Each visiting poet pairs with Miami's vibrant literary voices for intimate readings, fostering cross-generational dialogue and celebrating contemporary women's poetry.

This series offers audiences rare access to emerging and established poets in an intimate setting, fostering meaningful connections between writers, readers, and Miami's thriving arts community. Presented with support from the Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation CreARTE.t.

Join us for a special collaboration poetry reading with SWWIM x Matwaala featuring Lisa Rhoades + Yael Valencia Aldana.

Yael Valencia Aldana is a Black-Latine poet and writer. She is the author of the poetry collection Black Mestiza (University Press of Kentucky, 2025) and the chapbook Alien(s) from (Bottlecap Press 2023). She is a Pushcart Prize winner, and her work has been featured by Ms. Magazine, Hip Latina, and The Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club, among others. She is the Editor in Chief at Purple Ink Press. She teaches creative writing near the ocean, where she lives with her family and too many pets. You can find her online at YaelAldana.com and @yaelwrites.

Visiting writer:Lisa Rhoades is the author of three collections of poetry, The Long Grass, (Saint Julian Press), Strange Gravity, (Bright Hill Press) and the forthcoming Central to the Task. A former poetry fellow at the Creative Writing Institute at the University of Wisconsin, she holds MFAs in writing from Columbia University and LSU. Her poems recently have appeared or are forthcoming widely, including at Rust+Moth, Rogue Agent, Pirene’s Fountain, Permafrost, Windhover, Barrow Street, and The Southern Review. She currently works as a pediatric nurse in New York City where she lives with her spouse and their children.

Host or Publisher The Betsy Hotel