Leslie McIntosh (all pronouns respectfully used) chiefly explores and explodes morphologies and hermeneutics of AAVE, with an eye toward the pragmatic language of neurodiverse Black folk, among other things. Leslie’s first volume of poetry, within-group variance, was selected by Terrance Hayes for the 2025 Changes Book Prize and is forthcoming from Changes Press in Fall 2026. Supported by grants and fellowships from arts organizations such as Breadloaf Writers Conference, Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, Jersey City Arts Council, The Watering Hole, and Zoeglossia, Leslie’s work has appeared in Adi Magazine, Fourteen Hills, Indiana Review, Obsidian, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. Currently a chapbook editor at Newfound: An Inquiry of Place, Leslie lives on the stolen land of the Munsee Lenape, presently known as Jersey City, NJ, USA.