Mary Hall-Williams is a poet, essayist, and speaker whose conditions of possibility have been both thwarted and made real by the theft, exploitation, and violence that exists at the intersections of indigneous land disposession, chattel slavery, and capitalism. In writing she explores the invisible intimacies of a wholehearted dedication to personhood and beauty making despite her intersecting and often contradictory lived experiences.
An Alum of the University of Washington’s Anthropology Department, Mary has spent her life working at the the intersections of community based partnership models and education as a youth leader, preschool teacher, on sustainability and gardening efforts, in unhoused outreach, and as an advocate for domestic workers rights. She also brings a passion for social justice and is one half of the dynamic duo that created “Blackout Healing” as a direct response to the hyper-visibility of viral black death during the 2020 racial uprisings.
Mary brings her passion for service and commitment to beauty making to every aspect of her life and enjoys being an Auntie to her amazing niece, spoken word poetry, laughing to the tune of her own jokes, and spending time in nature. She is currently working on her first novel and publishes short pieces to her blog each week.