Paige Riehl is the author of Suspension, a poetry collection published by Terrapin Books (2018) and Blood Ties, a poetry chapbook published by Finishing Line Press (2014).
Riehl’s poetry has appeared in many publications such as Crab Orchard Review, Portland Review, Water-Stone Review, Meridian, South Dakota Review, and Nimrod International Journal. Suspension, previously titled Wait, was a finalist for the 2017 Lindquist and Vennum Prize for Poetry (Milkweed Editions). She won the 2012-2013 Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and the 2011 Literal Latte Prize for Poetry and was a 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee. In 2016, Billy Collins selected her to participate in his small Key West Literary Seminar poetry workshop. For many years, she was the Poetry Editor for Midway Journal and a volunteer mentor with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She is an English faculty member at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, where she is chair of the Two Rivers Reading Series. In 2021-22, she was a co-coordinator for Write Like Us, an equity-based creative writing program at five Twin Cities metro-area community colleges.
Riehl grew up on a farm eight miles from Rosholt, South Dakota, a small town with a population of around 400 people. She loves to travel and has explored more than 20 countries, including living for a summer in Ireland and for a few months in Spain. She lives in Saint Paul, MN, with her family.
Riehl earned her bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University, Moorhead; a Master’s Degree in English from North Dakota State University; and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Poetry from Hamline University.