Clare L. Martin is an acclaimed American poet, editor, and visual artist based in Louisiana. A native of Lafayette and a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, her work unfolds at the intersection of dream, grief, and spiritual longing.

Her debut collection, Eating the Heart First (Press 53, 2012), was selected by Tom Lombardo and garnered praise for its oneiric imagery, emotional depth, and deft craft. Her second full-length book, Seek the Holy Dark (Yellow Flag Press), was honored as the 2017 selection for the Louisiana Cajun & Creole Poetry Series. In 2018, she released Crone, a powerful book-length poem via Nixes Mate Books, exploring themes of transformation, wisdom, and feminine power.

Martin’s poetry has been widely published in literary journals such as Avatar Review, Blue Fifth Review, Thrush Poetry Journal, Melusine, Poets & Artists, and Louisiana Literature. Her work has also earned multiple nominations, including for the Pushcart Prize, Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web, Best New Poets, and Sundress Publication’s Best of the Net.

In addition to her writing, Martin is the founding editor of MockingHeart Review, an online literary and visual arts magazine she launched in 2015. Through her role there, she has nurtured emerging voices and built a community around deeply felt, imaginative work.

In interviews, Martin often reflects on recurring motifs in her poetry—especially her lifelong affinity for horses. She describes dreaming of horses from her youth, and these figures recur in her work as spiritual guides, symbols of grief, and conduits for expression. Outside of writing, she practices meditation, finds solace in swimming, and has explored digital self-portraiture in her visual art.

As a voice in contemporary American poetry, Clare L. Martin is celebrated for weaving together the personal and mythical, creating lyrical landscapes that speak to loss and hope, memory and imagination.