April Pagaling spent years treating writing as a gig, moving through freelance copy, articles, and social media work for brands. She has since returned to poetry, where the work feels close to the skin. Her first collection, Marinduque Is in the Heart, reads like a memoir of her island’s damage from mining and the slow work of living with it. Current projects include a historical novel and a new batch of poems forming in the margins of her day. She also runs a food blog at relaxlangmom.com. Find her online as @relaxlangmom and @aprilexsedlex, usually answering messages between meals.