“Sanchez-Ballado’s poems explore themes of inheritance, identity, and the transformation of pain into sweetness…[he] writes with clarity and tenderness, grounding emotion in the physical world. The poems blend precise imagery with conversational rhythm, creating a music that feels lived-in and unforced…”

— Kirkus Reviews

Tian Sanchez-Ballado (b. 1989) is a CubaRican-American poet and author of Baby Back Bitch (2025) and Every Fig Has a Wasp Inside (2025). His Southern Gothic, post-lyric work examines how trauma, illness, and identity pass through families—what gets inherited in blood, silence, and ritual. Writing from Florida’s queer margins, his poems bear witness to survival: living with chronic illness, navigating inheritance, and finding sweetness despite life’s stings. His poetry has been featured in The Acentos Review and Kirkus Magazine, and he was a finalist.

Sanchez-Ballado is a classically trained cellist, tenor, and conductor with over a decade of K-12 and collegiate orchestra teaching. His research and scholarship have appeared in journals such as The American String Teacher. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his husband Arman and their very fluffy cat, Mika.