Biography
Lena Judith Drake is currently 21 years old, and will acquire a double degree (B.A./B.S.) in Creative Writing, and Women & Gender Studies, from Grand Valley State University in April 2011. She is the editor-in-chief of Breadcrumb Scabs poetry magazine, and the Vice President of Finance for Iota Iota Iota Beta Delta, GVSU's Women and Gender Studies Honor Society. Her current day job involves grading Statistics homework.
She's been writing since the age of four, when she crafted peer-acclaimed works about a reptile who solved murder mysteries. At the age of nine she began accidentally writing about adultery between a servant boy and a queen, who had illegitimate children while the king was away. The king never noticed, and apparently neither did Lena. Her writing has gotten even stranger since.
Her first official (non-school) publication was in 2007, at the age of 17. She has now been published in over 50 different magazines. She writes nearly every genre, including poetry, drama, prose, and non-fiction. She has also recently made forays into mixed media poetry (i.e. collage art). Her current contemporary favorites/influences include writers Sarah Ruhl and Misti Rainwater-Lites.
Her future plans include a continuation of her freelance writing/editing career, as well as graduate school for Feminist Studies, and a career in feminist research. Current projects include: conducting a content analysis of sexualized violence in sci-fi/fantasy television shows, freelancing on oDesk, and writing a poetry chapbook entitled The Edible Body: Food and Sex as Pleasure, Disorder, and Commodity with a university grant.
Interviews
- Feature Article (interview) in Sapling: A Writer's Guide to the Small Press Industry, Black Lawrence Press, issue 49, Oct. 2010. Available here.
- "Not Your Typical Lecture!" in Feministing, 23 Sept. 2010, archived here.
- "Editor Interview: Breadcrumb Scabs: a poetry magazine" in Duotrope's Digest, 7 May 2010, archived here.
- "Student continues self-published poetry magazine" in The Grand Valley Lanthorn, issue 42, p. A6, 15 Feb. 2010, archived here.
- "Calliope Nerve Interview Series: Lena Judith Drake" in Calliope Nerve, 22 Nov. 2009, archived here.
- "ryan manning v lena judith drake" in thunk: where interviews go to die, March 2009.
To request an interview, please contact Lena.