about tamar
[Image Description: Tamar (they/she), a white femme-presenting person, with turquoise blue and blonde curly hair, wearing a black t-shirt and circular wire-frame glasses, is standing in front of a navy background with their tattooed left hand resting on their chin and looking directly at the camera]
Born and raised in New York City, Tamar Ashdot is a queer interdisciplinary artist who melds poetry, photography, and video into bodies of work that investigate the personal archive, Judaism, chronic illness, and place. Tamar holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of Michigan, is an Academy of American Poets College Prize winner, and a recipient of fellowships from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program and Vermont Studio Center.
Tamar’s poetry is published in or forthcoming from American Literary Review, Public School Poetry, Palette Poetry, Michigan Quarterly Review mixtape, Crosswinds Poetry Journal, and Paterson Literary Review, amongst others. Initially trained in vocal performance, Tamar’s libretto ever unleaving debuted with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra during their Spring 2026 season.
An avid supporter of youth arts and education, Tamar has facilitated creative and professional workshops for high school and undergraduate students throughout their career, working with organizations such as InsideOut Literary Arts, NYC Department of Education, Ann Arbor Public Schools, and University of Michigan.
When not writing or taking photos on their many digital and analog cameras, Tamar is collaging found items in a notebook, singing along to a jazz record, or testing new skills in the kitchen.