Poetry Month Carnival/Reading * BIWOC Poet Spotlight * CLMP Spotlight & Reading List * AWP Highlights

PUBLISHING NEW WOMEN POETS SINCE 1997

Save the Date:

*** Perugia Presents: A Carnival of Poets ***

Friday, April 29, 7:00-9:00

at The Big Barn at The Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen, MA

Join us for an an amazing line-up of poets published by, and on the volunteer team of, Perugia Press. We're continuing our 25th anniversary celebration of publishing emerging women poets. This Poetry Month gala features just some of the poets we've published and those who make our feminist press tick, all in a gorgeous space at I.M.A., another org that honors creativity & women. We’ll have readings, refreshments, a little music & poetry books on sale. This event is free to attend, and donations will be accepted at the door to support Perugia Press & the Florence Poetry Carnival. More info to come soon!

Note: Our celebration is a prelude event to the Florence Poetry Carnival,

which takes place on Saturday 4/30 from 1:00-5:00 at the Florence Civic Center

& of which Perugia Press is a proud sponsor.

Emerging BIWOC Poet Spotlight

March 2022 Poet: Saida Agostini

Photo by Kafi D'Ambrosi

an incomplete legend on love

Mahaica, Guyana 1935

at 10, granny jumped on to a grape tree, its boughs so fat with

fruit it diverted her eye from its own death. who could blame her

for climbing or the tree for falling, her right leg smashed underneath

its trunk. the blood spooling like threads of saffron into the green fields

the wound a quake of splitting skin and bone in her thigh. granny

screaming

into an open sky, calling for help until it birthed echoes sending her

brother winnie to find her from three miles away. think on what it took

to hear her call, what it means for your heart to be so literate in your blood’s

pain that you will run hours to save them a single ache. we call this fealty.

I call it prayer for the times we cannot run to save each other, the little

moments we horde in tasks that separately would not be counted

as holy

from LET THE DEAD IN (Alan Squire Publishing)

To read more about this poet and her work, check out our blog.

CLMP Member Spotlight

For Women's History Month, CLMP featured Perugia Press in its member spotlight. Read the full interview with Editor/Director Rebecca Olander here.

CLMP Women's History Month Reading List

It's always a good month to read poetry by women! As we close out March, here's a curated list of amazing books to carry with you

into the coming months, including Megan Peak's Girldom and

Diane Gilliam's Kettle Bottom, both from Perugia Press.

AWP 2022 in Philadelphia

It was wonderful to be at AWP in person in Philadelphia! We loved having our authors who were present sign their beautiful books at our table - and having all our gorgeous books represented. Five of our poets presented an interesting panel conversation on linguistic diversity (more to be shared on that in the coming months on our website). And we held a great reading offsite at the Chapterhouse Cafe (picture below). Thanks to all who came out to join the panel convo, listen to the reading, meet our poets and founding and current editor/directors, buy our books, and support our press by engaging with us and the work we do. We appreciate you!

Left to right: Lynne Thompson, Ida Stewart, Nancy K. Pearson, Jacqueline Balderrama, Abby E. Murray, Rebecca Pelky, Susan Kan & Rebecca Olander

Once More, with Feeling: 2022 Perugia Press Prize Results

WINNER: Lisbeth White, American Sycamore

FINALISTS:

Ayesha Raees, Within Sky Kissing God

Christina Vega, Hand to Mouth

SEMI-FINALISTS:

Mary Ardery, They're Not Lying When They Tell You You'll Dream of the Dead

Monique-Adelle Callahan, Rupture

Anaïs Deal-Márquez, I Made You Pozole

Caitlin Dwyer, In the Salt

Stephanie Glazier, Of Fish & Country

Christen Noel Kauffman, Acts of Protection

Victoria Korth, The Granite Door

Alysse Kathleen McCanna, FishWife

Jordan Osborne, The Damselfish Year

Mira Rosenthal, Territorial

Jeri Theriault, Self-Portrait as Homestead

Theresa Vincent, believe breath, believe silence,

Maria Williams, Snow

Thanks to each woman who submitted her manuscript/s

& to the volunteers who helped read for & judge the contest!

Perugia Press Prize: A prize of $1000 & publication by Perugia Press is given annually for a first or second unpublished poetry collection by a woman. The next deadline is November 15, 2022.

PERUGIA PRESS

PO Box 60364, Florence, MA 01062