Mary Meriam (born 1955) is an American poet and editor. She is a founding editor of

Headmistress Press Headmistress Press is a small press based in Sequim, Washington. Founded in 2013, the press specializes in poetry by lesbian poets. Notable poets who have published collections with Headmistress include Janice Gould, Joy Ladin, Constance Merritt ...

, one of the few presses (possibly the only press) in the United States specializing in

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

poetry.

Biography

Mary Meriam was born in

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 ...

. She earned a B.A. in Poetry from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

and an M.F.A. in Poetry from

Columbia University 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 Manhatt ...

. She has published four full-length collections of poetry and four chapbooks. Three of her books (''Word Hot'', ''Conjuring My Leafy Muse'', and ''Girlie Calendar'') make up the ''Lillian Trilogy'', which is dedicated to her mentor,

Lillian Faderman Lillian Faderman (born July 18, 1940) is an American historian whose books on lesbian history and LGBT history have earned critical praise and awards. ''The New York Times'' named three of her books on its "Notable Books of the Year" list. In addi ...

. Her first full-length collection, ''Conjuring My Leafy Muse'' (2015), was warmly praised by

Naomi Replansky Naomi Replansky (May 23, 1918 – January 7, 2023) was an American poet and translator. ''The New York Times'' described her poetry as investigating "social history through individual lives". While her writing initially received little critical ...

, David Bergman,

Willis Barnstone Willis Barnstone (born November 13, 1927) is an American poet, religious scholar, and translator. He was born in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Oakland, California. He has translated works by Jorge Luis Borges, Antonio Machado, Rainer Maria Rilke, ...

, and others; it was nominated for the 2015

Poets' Prize The Poets' Prize is awarded annually for the best book of verse published by a living American poet two years prior to the award year. The $3000 annual prize is donated by a committee of about 20 American poets, who each nominate two books and who ...

. ''Girlie Calendar'' (2016) has been similarly well received. A new collection, ''My Girl's Green Jacket'' (2018), was favorably reviewed by several advance readers, including

Rhina Espaillat Rhina Polonia Espaillat (born January 20, 1932, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a bilingual Dominican-American poet and translator who is affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. She has published ele ...

Rachel Hadas Rachel Hadas (born November 8, 1948) is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent essay collection is ''Piece by Piece: Selected Prose'' (Paul Dry Books, 2021), and her most recent poetry collection is ''Love and Dread'' ...

, and Stu Watson. Meriam founded ''Lavender Review'', an e-zine of lesbian poetry and art, on Gay Pride Day, June 27, 2010. In 2013 she founded Headmistress Press, a lesbian poetry press, with Risa Denenberg. Her poetry, reviews, and essays have been published widely in literary journals, including ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'', ''

The Cimarron Review ''The Cimarron Review'' is a major American literary journal published quarterly by the Oklahoma State University. It was founded in 1967, and its current editor is Lisa Lewis. The magazine has its headquarters in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Contributo ...

'', ''

The Evansville Review ''The Evansville Review'' is a literary journal published annually by the University of Evansville. Content includes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays, and interviews by the students. It was founded in 1989. Notable past contributors include Joyc ...

'', '' The Gay & Lesbian Review'', ''

The Journal of Lesbian Studies ''Journal of Lesbian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. It examines the cultural, historical, and interpersonal impact of the lesbian experience on society. The journal is a forum for re ...

'', ''

Literary Imagination The Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers (ALSCW) was organized in 1994 as the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics by a group of over 400 scholars troubled by what they saw as an over reliance on post-modern theory in the a ...

'', ''

Measure Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Mea ...

'', ''

Mezzo Cammin ''Mezzo Cammin'' is a semiannual online literary journal devoted to formalist poetry by contemporary women as well as to bring attention back to work that was more famous in previous eras. The journal's title comes from Judith Moffett's poem "Mezz ...

'', ''

Rattle Rattle may refer to: Instruments * Crotalus (liturgy), a liturgical percussion instrument * Rattle (percussion instrument), a type of percussion instrument * Rattle (percussion beater), a part of some percussion instruments * Ratchet (instrume ...

'', ''

Sinister Wisdom ''Sinister Wisdom'' is an American lesbian literary, theory, and art journal published quarterly in Berkeley, California. Started in 1976 by Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Ellenberger (Desmoines) in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is the longest ...

'', and ''

The Women's Review of Books Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficia ...

''; in anthologies, such as ''Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse'', ''Measure for Measure: An Anthology of Poetic Meters'', and ''Obsession: Sestinas in the 21st Century''; and on websites such as the ''

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

'', ''Ms.'' magazine, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Meriam often uses traditional forms in her poetry. She invented an original form called "Basic Me" which has been used by other poets, including

Catherine Tufariello Catherine Tufariello (born 1963 in Ithaca, New York) is an American poet and former professor at Cornell University, the College of Charleston, and the University of Miami. Biography She graduated from University at Buffalo, and Cornell University ...

and

Marly Youmans Marly Youmans (born Susan Marlene Youmans; November 22, 1953 in Aiken, South Carolina) is an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Her work reflects certain recurring themes such as nature, magic, faith and redemption, and often referen ...

Books

Full-length poetry collections

* ''Pools of June'', Exot Books, 2022 * ''My Girl's Green Jacket'', Headmistress Press, 2018 * ''Girlie Calendar'', Headmistress Press, 2014 * ''Conjuring My Leafy Muse'', Headmistress Press, 2013

Chapbooks

* ''The Lesbian'', Seven Kitchens Press, 2016 * ''Word Hot'', Headmistress Press, 2013 * ''The Poet's Zodiac'', Seven Kitchens Press, 2011 * ''The Countess of Flatbroke'', Modern Metrics, 2006

Honors and awards

* 2017: "The Earth" nominated for a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

by SWWIM * 2016: ''Girlie Calendar'' selected for the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

's Over the Rainbow List * 2016: Winner of the ''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

'' Sonnet Contest * 2015: ''Conjuring My Leafy Muse'' nominated for the 2015

* 2014: ''Irresistible Sonnets'' selected for the ''Washington Independent Review of Books'' Best Books List for June 2014

References

External links

Mary Meriam website
*
Lavender Review
', lesbian poetry and art journal {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriam, Mary 1955 births Living people American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers People from Passaic, New Jersey Poets from New Jersey Formalist poets American LGBT poets American women editors Bennington College alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni