Terry A. O'Neal is a writer, poet, and educator whose work moves between reflection, story, and lived experience. She is the author of several books across genres, including the poetry collections Motion Sickness, The Poet Speaks in Black, Good Mornin' Glory, and He (2026), as well as the children's books Ev'ry Little Soul and My Jazz Shoes, and the novel Sweet Lavender. Her writing returns often to questions of voice, inheritance, and what remains present even when it is not fully spoken. Her work has appeared in publications and media platforms in the United States and abroad, with features on PBS, Louisiana Public Broadcasting, and other outlets. In 2004, her poetry was translated into Persian and published in Golestaneh, extending her reach beyond English-speaking audiences. O'Neal draws inspiration from the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, including Langston Hughes, Carolyn M. Rodgers, Gwendolyn Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Zora Neale Hurston, and Dudley Randall.

She is also influenced by earlier and modernist voices such as Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and E.E. Cummings. These influences appear not as imitation, but as a continued engagement with language, rhythm, and the possibilities of form. In addition to her writing, O'Neal is committed to creating space for others. She is the founder of Make Some Noise! A Youth Poetry Anthology, which invites young writers to speak from their own experience.

She also leads the Chloe African American Cemetery Preservation Association, a grassroots effort dedicated to restoring and protecting a historic burial ground in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, while preserving the stories connected to it. She has taught English and writing at both the secondary and college levels, bringing creative work into the classroom as a way of helping students find their own voice on the page. O'Neal lives in Long Beach, California, where she continues to write, teach, and develop new work.