Laura Tohe grew up near the Chuska Mountains on the eastern border of the Diné homeland. She currently lives in Mesa, Arizona.
A poet, writer, and librettist, Tohe's work has been published in the journals Ploughshares, New Letters, Red Ink, World Literature Today and many others. She has read her poetry in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Her chapbook of poetry, Making Friends with Water, was translated into modern dance and music by The Moving Company in Omaha, Nebraska. Laura wrote the commissioned libretto for Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio for the Phoenix Symphony's 60th Anniversary that made its world premiere in Phoenix in February 2008. It received rave reviews by the Arizona Republic and was called "a triumph" by Opera Today. Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio will be performed by Salt Lake Choral Artists on May 2, 2009. The soundtrack for Enemy Slayer appears on the Naxos label on March 31, 2009.
Laura received her Bachelors degree from the University of New Mexico and her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.