Mario Alejandro Ariza is a Dominican immigrant to the United States. He holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in Hispanic cultural studies from Columbia University. His poetry can be found in publications including BOAAT, The Cincinnati Review, Gulf Coast, and Raleigh Review. His journalism has appeared in The Atlantic and Miami New Times. His current project is a book-length nonfiction work on sea-level rise and Miami titled Disposable City: Miami’s Doom and How to Avoid It, forthcoming from Nation Books.