About

Layla Lenhardt is an American poet currently based out of Indianapolis. She was born in Philadelphia and attended Washington & Jefferson College. She is an MFA candidate at IU.  She is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the (currently on hiatus) national literary journal 1932 Quarterly. Her essays, poems, short prose, and interviews have been published across various types of media, including a pickle jar, a post card, and a bathroom stall in Dublin. She is a 2021 Best of the Net Nominee and was a judge for Poetry Super Highway's Annual Contest in 2022. Her first full-length poetry collection, Mother Tongue, was published by Main Street Rag Publications (2023). She is an alumna of the SAFTA residency, and is currently a member of the Sundress Academy for the Art's Reader Board. She is the 2025 winner of the Eric Sharp Gateway Poetry Award. In her free time she enjoys playing the harp and spending time with her three cats and partner.