Caitlyn Paley is a poet, editor, visual writer, and small-press publisher whose work has appeared across poetry, visual poetry, fiction, and literary editing. Her publications include work in Shampoo, Moria Poetry Journal, Otoliths, Metazen, Atlas & Alice, and The Austin Review. She also founded and edited 491 Magazine, extending her literary practice into independent publishing and editorial work.
Poetry and visual writing
Paley’s published work moves between poetry and visual composition. Her piece “Renegade” appeared in Moria Poetry Journal; “Erasure” appeared in indefinite space; “Steep” was published by Otoliths; and “Fast” appeared in Shampoo in 2009. Later work includes “Goat Caitlyn; Xenadrine Commercial During Law & Order” in Metazen and “Even in the Rain” in Atlas & Alice.
This range places Paley among writers whose poetry crosses freely into collage, visual arrangement, and hybrid literary forms. Readers interested in that broader field can continue through Shampoo’s guide to contemporary poets and its overview of modern poetry.
Editor and publisher
Paley served on the editorial staff of the University of Richmond’s literary magazine The Messenger, including work as prose nonfiction editor. She later founded 491 Magazine, where she worked as editor-in-chief and publisher. Her editorial activity connects her poetry to the practical life of little magazines: selecting work, shaping issues, and building spaces where emerging writers can appear beside established voices.
Education and literary work
Paley studied at the University of Richmond and later received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her work spans literary publishing, poetry, visual poetry, editorial practice, and nonfiction. She has also written educational books on subjects including the American Revolution, slavery narratives, and nuclear power.
Caitlyn Paley and Shampoo
Paley’s appearance in Shampoo belongs to a wider small-press network that connected poets, editors, visual artists, and experimental writers during the magazine’s original run. Her work sits naturally beside the archive’s broader interest in hybrid form and independent literary culture. The poets archive offers further routes through writers associated with the magazine.