Beth Ann Gylys (born 1964

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

) is a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and professor of English and Creative Writing at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

. She has published five poetry collections, three of which have won awards.

Early life and education

Gylys grew up in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, and graduated from

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1986. She went on to receive a master's degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing from

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. She has also attended the Stonecoast Writers Conference in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

Career

Gylys formerly taught at

Mercyhurst College (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administra ...

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. She is currently a professor of English and Creative Writing at Georgia State University. Her poems have appeared in ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', ''

The Southern Review ''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes fiction ...

'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'', ''

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

'', and ''

The Columbia Review Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan ...

''.

Events

Gylys' poem "Erratic Gardener" was featured on an episode of

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

's ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'' in 1999. Her book of personal ads, titled ''Matchbook'', has been set to music by composer

Dan Welcher Dan Welcher (born March 2, 1948)Joshua Kosman, "Welcher, Dan (Edward)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001)Nicolas Slonimsky, Laura Kuh ...

. She was a featured guest poet at the January 2013 meeting of the

Georgia Poetry Society The Georgia Poetry Society (GPS) is a non-profit state-level poetry association in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, which is affiliated with the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). The organization promotes poet ...

Personal life

She is married to

Thomas Forsthoefel Thomas Forsthoefel is a professor of religious studies at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, as well as a poet and author.

who is Professor of Religious Studies at Mercyhurst College and the Erie County, PA,

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

Awards

* Quentin R. Howard Award for ''Balloon Heart'' * Gerald Cable Book Award for ''Bodies that Hum'' * The Ohio State University Press/''The Journal'' Award in Poetry for ''Spot in the Dark''

Works

Collections of poems

* ''Balloon Heart'', Wind Publications, 1997, * ''Bodies that Hum'', Silverfish Review Press, 1999, * ''Spot in the Dark'', Ohio State University Press, 2004, * ''Matchbook'', La Vita Poetica Press, 2007, * ''Sky Blue Enough to Drink'', Grayson Books, 2016, * ''Body Braille'', Iris Press, 2020, * ''The Conversation Turns to Wide-Mouth Jars'', with Cathy Carlisi and Jennifer Wheelock, Kelsay Books, 2022,

Anthology appearances

* ''Anthology of Best Magazine Verse'' (1996) * ''American Poetry: the Next Generation'', Gerald Costanzo, Jim Daniels Eds, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2000,
"Beyond the Map Edge"
''Under the Rock Umbrella: Contemporary American Poets from 1951–1977'', Editor William J. Walsh, Mercer University Press, 2006, *"Preference", ''The best American erotic poems: from 1800 to the present'', Editor David Lehman, Scribner Poetry, 2008, *"Not an Affair, a Sestina" and "The Scene" were included in ''The Incredible Sestina Anthology'', Editor

Daniel Nester Daniel Murlin Nester (born February 29, 1968, in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American writer, editor, and poet. Biography Nester was raised in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. He attended high school at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hi ...

Write Bloody Publishing Write Bloody Publishing is an independent American publishing house, founded in 2004 by traveling poet Derrick C. Brown. Authors and titles References {{reflist External links Write Bloody Publishing Publishing companies of the United Stat ...

, 2013,

References

External links

"Beth Gylys Interviewed by Josephine Yu"
''The Southeast Review'', February 1, 2010 *

July 20, 2009

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gylys, Beth 1964 births Allegheny College alumni Georgia State University faculty Living people Writers from Passaic, New Jersey Writers from Pittsburgh Syracuse University alumni University of Cincinnati alumni University of Southern Maine alumni American women poets 21st-century American poets American women academics 21st-century American women writers