Jerika Marchan was born in Manila, Philippines and raised in the American South. She holds degrees from Louisiana State University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her debut collection SWOLE (Futurepoem, 2018) was the June 2018 poetry best seller on Small Press Distribution and was named a Must-Read Race and Culture Book of the Summer by Colorlines magazine. She is an instructor at the New Orleans Writers' Workshop and a board member of One Book One New Orleans.