Chavisa Woods

Chavisa Woods is a Brooklyn-based writer, poet, performance artist, and the Executive Director of A Gathering of the Tribes.[1][3] Born in Sandoval, Illinois, she was raised in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist family and has authored books including the short story collection *Love Does Not Make Me Gentle or Kind* (Lambda Literary Award finalist), the novel *The Albino Album*, and *Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country* (Cobalt’s Zora Neale Hurston Fiction Prize winner).[1][3][5][6] A McDowell Fellow and Kathy Acker Award recipient, her work explores rural America, misfits, and oppressive systems, with performances at venues like the Whitney Museum.[1][3]