Matti is a queer nonfiction writer & poet from Baltimore, Maryland, though he's currently based in Northern Virginia. He's in a long-term love affair with the ampersand. His work has appeared in McSweeney's, Rumpus, CRAFT, Hobart, X-R-A-Y, HAD, Ekphrastic Review, River Heron Review, Jake, Anti-Heroin Chic, Grub Street, Corporeal Lit Mag, & elsewhere. His chapbook, letters to jimi hendrix on the Star-Spangled Banner, is forthcoming from Fifth Wheel Press in 2027 and was previously selected as a Finishing Line Press semifinalist. His work has been supported by a summer residency with Inner Loop in D.C., as well as the Cheuse travel grant. He is a nonfiction editor for the intersectional feminist lit mag So To Speak & an MFA candidate in nonfiction from George Mason University. He's currently working on a book-length hybrid-lyric bio about Emma Goldman. During his free time, he enjoys reading, kayaking, & hanging with his partner's cats (& with his partner). Matti takes ownership of cat photos, but no ownership of physical cats: Questions? Comments? Want to send me photos of the last time you explored a dilapidated building (please do)? Drop me a LINE HERE or email me: mattibenlev@gmail.com

abandoned buildings and spaces politics & living in contemporary America (yay) capitalism, anarchism, nationalism music (esp. Jimi Hendrix, Coltrane, jazz, etc.) Emma Goldman my family & culture (Greek, Jewish, etc.)

developmental editing & beta reading freelance writing (articles, blog posts, etc.) ghostwriting conducting author interviews

Outside of writing, I'm a nonfiction editor of the intersectional feminist lit mag So To Speak. [PLEASE take a peek & watch for future calls: https://www.sotospeakjournal.org] I work at George Mason's Writing Center and teach Lit and Creative Writing. I also serve on the Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association (MAWCA) board.

Bluff - Diane Seuss (poetry) Just Us - Claudia Rankine Mean - Myriam Gurba (despite having read ~52% of the books I own, this is a re-read)