Jzl Jmz, Poetry Instructor
JZL JMZ (FKA jayy dodd) beamed down in Los Angeles ’92 & is reuploading herself
to the internet. Her professional career includes positions at Blavity, The Offing, Winter Tangerine & more. She’s been featured in the LA Times, Poetry Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Ms. Magazine, PEN America, Willamette Weekly, The New York Public Library & several anthologies. She’s the author of Mannish Tongues (Platypus Press 2017) & The 2021 Poetry Center Book Prize-winning: The Black Condition ft. Narcissus (Nightboat 2019), Local Woman (forthcoming Nightnoat Books 2025) She curated Beyond Special Issue (a collective critique on tokenism in (Trans*) poetry) & THEE SPACE Poetry Prize with Shade Literary Arts. She’s editing Bettering American Poetry Vol. 2 (Bettering Books 2017) A Portrait in Blues (Platypus Press 2019) & Her film & performance works have been installed & screened across the country from classrooms to museums. She has been a Lambda Literary Fellow, Precipice Art Grant Recipient through Portland’s Institute of Contemporary Art & Artist-in-Residence at Ori Gallery. She’s an occasional rapper & founder of Tournament.Haus Mutual Aid Fund. Find her talking slick or in another dimension.
Michael Heald, Prose Instructor
Michael Heald graduated from the IPRC’s Prose Certificate Program in 2011. For his final project, he founded Perfect Day Publishing, a small press that has released one book of creative nonfiction per year (or so) for the past decade. He works closely with authors whose manuscripts are typically unfinished at the time they are acquired, and he believes that editing should be a collaborative process. Perfect Day’s catalog includes two Oregon Book Award finalists and a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Since 2013, Michael has taught creative writing and zinemaking to teenagers at the Pendleton Rock ‘n Roll Camp, and in 2020–2021 he led a 24-week-long class for adults called “Write a Book” through the IPRC. He is the author of Goodbye to the Nervous Apprehension, a collection of essays. His writing has appeared in Runner’s World magazine, Oregon Humanities, Big Big Wednesday, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn, among other publications. When he’s not giving his dog belly rubs, he works as a freelance editor
Jakelen Diaz, Art Book Instructor
Jakelen is a Salvadoran-Guatemalan American artist and designer with a passion for community and education. After completing undergraduate studies in art & design and philosophy, Jakelen went on to complete the IPRC’s Art Book Certificate Program in 2019 and self-published her first artist book THE AMBIGUITY OF A DEPARTURE WITHOUT A RETURN. She has since continued to work on a variety of print and publication projects, such as the semi-monthly micro-zine Everything is so Much, and is the current studio manager at the IPRC.
M. Sabine Rear, Comics Instructor
M. Sabine Rear is a cartoonist, zine-maker, and the cute blind lady you gave your seat to on the bus. Her comics primarily address disability, gender and public space. She is a graduate of the 2016-17 Certificate Program, an Ignatz Award nominee, an organizer of the Portland Zine Symposium, a founding member of Soft Skills Comics Collective, and a pillar of the karaoke community.