Festival Leadership
Chicharra Poetry Festival is built by poets, educators, artists, organizers, volunteers, and community partners who believe poetry deserves a public home in the American Southwest.
Our festival team works year-round to bring Chicharra to life—from readings, workshops, and poetry slam to youth programming, partnerships, artist development, and community events throughout Albuquerque.
Zachary Kluckman
Founder / Festival Director
Zachary Kluckman is a poet, community organizer, and the Founder & Festival Director of the Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work explores memory, grief, identity, ecology, and the body through lyrical and surreal approaches to language and storytelling.
A longtime performer, organizer, and advocate for spoken word and literary arts, Zachary has competed nationally in poetry slam, including a fifth-place national finish. Through Chicharra, he has worked to build connections across literary and performance poetry while expanding access to readings, workshops, youth programming, professional development, and community-centered literary events throughout the Southwest.
His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in journals and anthologies including Arts & Letters, Muzzle, RHINO, North American Review, Crab Orchard Review, Asheville Poetry Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, and the Wesleyan University Press anthology Dear Yusef. He is the recipient of the Button Poetry Short Form Award and the Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize, selected by Oliver de la Paz.
Katrina Kaye
Assistant Festival Director
Katrina Kaye is an educator, writer, publisher, artist, and community organizer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her work explores themes of identity, memory, and human connection through both traditional and experimental forms of poetry.
A longtime performer and touring spoken word artist, Katrina has published multiple poetry collections and chapbooks, including her most recent collection, No Longer Water (Echobird Press) and All It Is (Chasing Rabbits Publications). A former public school and community college English teacher, she remains deeply committed to helping others find self-expression through writing and storytelling.
In addition to serving as Assistant Festival Director for the Chicharra Poetry Festival, Katrina facilitates writing and therapeutic poetry workshops throughout the community and currently leads the free Albuquerque-based writing group, Spill the Ink.
Festival Programming Team
Chicharra's programming team brings the festival's many moving parts to life—developing showcases, youth events, workshops, performances, and other opportunities for poets and audiences to gather throughout the festival.
Kristin Patton
Showcase Producer
Kristin Patton is an Albuquerque-based poet, performer, and community organizer who has been active in the local spoken word scene since 2015. A longtime participant in poetry slams and open mic communities, Kristin has competed nationally as part of Albuquerque’s Mindwell Poetry Slam Team at events including Southern Fried Poetry Slam, the New York City Poetry Festival, Bigfoot Poetry Festival, and the Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship.
Her first collection, The Beginning of This, was published in 2020. She was named the 2019 Poetry Goddess of Albuquerque and currently holds the title of 2019 Poetry Goddess of Albuquerque. In 2024, she competed as part of the Voices of the Barrio Slam Team, helping the team place fourth overall.
As part of the Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival team, Kristin helps develop and produce featured programming and community-centered events that celebrate performance, storytelling, and creative expression.
Scarlett Cortez
Youth Chair
Bio: Coming soon
TBA
Coming Soon