Elise Houcek

Elise Houcek is a poet, performer, hand-actor and death doula whose work is concerned with play, humor, the thread of sound, and mystery. Practicing a poetics of self-evasion, her work troubles the distinction between will and spontaneity, proffering a deconstruction of the self in favor of a pure present that cuts through the illusion of separate entities. She is the author of From the Pocket of Agent Dickinson, (2025), co-authored with the poet Zack Darsee; and Tractatus, (2021). Recent writing has appeared in Fence, Diva Corp, and Black Sun Lit. Her works have been performed in venues such as Weatherproof in Chicago and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office.