Artist Roster

Torrey Francis Malek is a Delaware poet, essayist, photographer, and orator whose work moves between personal reflection, place-based lyricism, humor, satire, and civic imagination. His poetry has appeared in The Broadkill Review, Dreamstreets Literary Magazine, Plants & Poetry Journal, Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, Defenestration, and other literary publications and anthologies. In 2023, his poem “The Irish Walrus” was shortlisted for the Letter Review Prize for Poetry. Malek’s literary path began with his recognition as Poet Laureate of Valley Forge Military Academy in 2009. His writing, often rooted in memory, family history, and the landscapes of Delaware, balances intimacy and image-driven reflection with wit and a strong sense of place. He is currently completing Glory Hill, his debut poetry collection, and Hoopes, a collection of reflective essays.

In recent years, Malek has also expanded his creative practice into photography. His photograph 'Liston Rear Light, Night' was selected for the Delaware Art Museum’s juried 2026 Citizen Photographer exhibition, part of a statewide initiative examining Delaware identity during the nation’s Semiquincentennial. His photography, developed alongside his wife, Jen, draws upon travel, everyday observation, atmosphere, and a distinctly vintage sensibility, with particular attention to texture, tactility, and the character of objects and environments. His work has since been exhibited through additional Citizen Photographer programming, including the Smyrna Opera House.

Originally from Greenville and now based in Newark, Delaware, Malek is also active in the state’s literary community as the Director of Delaware Poets, Inc. and organizer of The Delaware Poets Almanac, a statewide project preserving and celebrating more than 250 years of Delaware’s poetic history. In addition to his literary and visual arts work, he is an ordained officiant with the Universal Life Church.

Torrey Francis Malek is the Director of Delaware Poets Inc., a Delaware-based nonprofit dedicated to uplifting the historical and contemporary voices of Delaware poets through programs and events that connect poetry with Delaware history. He also serves as Coordinator and Community Organizer for The Delaware Poets Almanac (DPA), a statewide project highlighting Delaware’s historic and contemporary poets through chapbooks, public programming, and a 50-poem time capsule created in recognition of the nation’s Semiquincentennial, America’s 250th anniversary, in 2026.In addition to his work with DPA, Torrey is pursuing independent local collaborations with fellow poets and community venues to create original, historically informed poems and events. These efforts are designed to honor the Semiquincentennial through place-based storytelling, civic reflection, and living Delaware history.