Elise Paschen, a poet and enrolled member of the Osage Nation, is the co-founder and co-editor of Poetry in Motion, a program which places poetry posters in subways and buses across the country. The daughter of renowned prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief, and Chicago builder Henry D. Paschen, she was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where she attended the Francis W. Parker School. A graduate of Harvard University, she holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in 20th Century British and American Literature from Oxford University. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, The New Republic, Ploughshares and Shenandoah. She is also the author of the poetry collections, "Bestiary" and "Infidelities", winner of the Nicholas Roerich prize. She is the editor of "Poetry Speaks" and "Poetry in Motion" as well as many more anthologies.

Mask designed by Lara Mann

Lara Mann is an Illinois native who attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is currently living and working in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Her artistic inspiration comes from an intrinsic color sensibility infused with an eye for beauty in simplicity.

For more information about this mask or artist, email lara@lara-mann.com or visit lara-mann.com.