Aline Mello

Aline Mello is a writer and editor from Brazil. She was an UndocuPoet fellow in the MFA program at Ohio State University. Her debut poetry collection is More Salt than Diamond (Andrews McMeel, 2022).

On Presença: We Are Here

I worked on Presença (Portuguese for presence) during the summer of 2022, using photos I took on my iPhone during self-funded trips to Washington, DC to advocate for immigrants’ rights. I didn’t see much of an impact from these visits, and I was starting to wonder what had even been

Personal Essay

My So-Called Undocumented MFA Life

All images from Presença: We Are Here, a series of embroidered 16 x 20-inch photographs. Aline Mello, 2022. IT’S SUMMER BREAK after the first year of my MFA at Ohio State. I am living with my stepfather and mother in their house about thirty minutes outside Atlanta. I am thirty-three,

VOLUME 1: ISSUE 4
FALL 2022

Poetry

Two Poems by Aline Mello

Family Keepsake My grandmother wanted to die but in the online form, I say no, no family member has died by or attempted suicide because having children, no matter the goal, is still giving life. Because that’s what blood is. The psychiatrist asked if she’d tried to kill herself before.

VOLUME 1: ISSUE 3
JULY/AUGUST 2022