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Joanna Lee is the author of “Dissections” (2017) and co-editor of the anthology Lingering in the Margins (2019). Her poetry has been published in JAMA, Rattle, Fourth River and elsewhere and has been nominated for both Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes. Having earned her MD from the Medical College of Virginia and a Master’s in neuroscience from William & Mary, she currently co-owns coffeeshop Café Zata in Richmond’s Manchester district. When she’s not slinging espresso or scribbling poems, you can find her training for her next marathon or hanging out with other members of the newly formed Poets Who Run.

Joanna has performed her work live in venues from living rooms to conference halls to baseball stadiums. Her teaching repertoire centers around poetry & its role in healing… but she has taught workshops on such widely flung topics as Grammar for Poets and organic chemistry. Recent projects include a Virginia-based anthology with Writing the Land, collaborative work with the Richmond Symphony, and a fourth stint at Tupelo Press’ 30/30 Project, writing daily as part of the January 2025 cohort.

Joanna is a founder of the River City Poets community, a former Central Region Vice President and President Pro Tempore for the Poetry Society of Virginia, and the current Poet Laureate for the city of Richmond.