Ellen Austin-Li, a 1980 Boston College graduate, has published her first full-length collection of poetry. Incidental Pollen (Madville Publishing, 2025) is a Trio Award finalist, a Wisconsin Poetry Series semi-finalist, and runner-up for the Arthur Smith Poetry Prize. The collection explores the space between past and present, shame and redemption, and grief and resilience. Austin-Li’s work has appeared in Artemis, Thimble Literary, The Maine Review, Salamander, Lily Poetry Review, and Rust & Moth, among other places.