Jzl Jmz (pronounced juh-zell jaym-s) aka [Lady Tournament] is a Black Transsexual Los Angelena based in Portland, OR. Her professional career included positions at The Huffington Post & Blavity. She’s been featured in the LA Times, Poetry Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Ms. Magazine, PEN America, The New York Public Library & several anthologies. She’s the author of 3 full-length poetry collections: Mannish Tongues (Platypus Press 2017), The 2021 Poetry Center Book Prize-winning: The Black Condition ft. Narcissus (2019) & 2026 Lambda Literary Finalist & Winner of The Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans Literature: Local Woman (2025) (Nightboat Books). Jzl Jmz has been a Lambda Literary Fellow, & Precipice Art Grant Recipient through Portland’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Her first sculpture exhibition ROOMinnate debuted at Ori Gallery (Aug-Oct 2024). Her film & performance work has been taught & toured nationwide. She’s an occasional rapper & founder of Tournament.Haus Mutual Aid Fund.
Jzl has been a poetry & arts educator for over a decade. Beginning in the Boston area teaching youth poets, Jzl went on to develop Winter Tangerine’s Workshop Program, which included online & live workshops. When not lecturing for colleges & universities, she is the Poetry Instructor at Portland, Oregon’s Independent Publishing Resource Center where she leads a yearly cohort through developing portfolios & encouraging their poetic expressions. Find her talking slick or in another dimension.
