Elise is a writer, artist, and medical student, enthusiastic about helping other creative humans bring their dreams to fruition. She was encouraged by her community from a young age to write professionally, but it terrified her more than being a first-generation medical student. She created Decomprose to make publishing and promotion more accessible for her and other artists.

Decomprose was formed in response to the lack of literary agents taking on new poets and the high cost of applying to poetry contests. Additionally, several of her friends received the response that their books were “too much” or “too radical,” with the latter simply because they mentioned colonization. Decomprose holds freedom of expression, as described by Amnesty International, in the utmost value.

​Although her undergraduate degrees are in Molecular Biology and Chemistry, she pursued creative opportunities as extracurricular activities. She formed a poetry group called the Oxford Commas and was an editor for a student journal called Through a Glass Darkly. She has also been a regular contributor to Lavender Magazine since 2022.

Elise identifies strongly with her Sami and Irish heritage. She began teaching herself Davvi and Gaelic in 7th grade. However, she had to pivot to learning Norwegian first because there were no English resources available on Davvi. Her Sami heritage was discovered by a family member rather than being explicitly passed on to her (a common story due to colonization and stigma). Currently, she is clarifying her family tree records due to the historical and current exploitation of Indigenous identity. She is careful not to socially or materially profit from her identity, but is nevertheless proud of her heritage and ancestry.

Her art CV is available upon request. She can be reached at elise@elisemaren.com