T H E B E S T N E W W O M E N P O E T S
for 20 years
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N E W R E L E A S E : N O W A V A I L A B L E
GUIDE to the EXHIBIT
by Lisa Allen Ortiz
Winner of the 2016 Perugia Press Prize
for a first or second book of poetry by a woman
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“With a naturalist’s insatiable curiosity and an intimacy that comes from prolonged and meticulous observation, Lisa Allen Ortiz guides us through a world that seems exotic, but which we ultimately recognize as the only world: our own.”
—Chase Twichell
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INSPIRED BY DISPLAYS AT A SMALL NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, the poems in Guide to the Exhibit are about what we set aside to examine and remember. The quirky,
scientific lens—grimy, focused, funny, always illuminating—animates the
odd and overlooked. With humility and curiosity, Ortiz is moved to learn
how to see more clearly both as lover and as griever. Speaking the
names of things—animals, skeletons, teeth, feathers—is a way of
connecting with the complications of being alive. How does the stillness of an exhibit
encourage us toward love and joy? Does studying details increase the
pleasure of felt experience? Guide to the Exhibit faces these questions with courage, modesty, and power. Thomas Lux says,
“The speaker is madly in love with the world and its names, its things.”
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Lisa Allen Ortiz was born and raised in Mendocino County, California. Her poems and translations have appeared in Narrative, Best New Poets 2013, Beloit Poetry Journal, and The Literary Review. She is the author of two chapbooks: Turns Out and Self Portrait as a Clock. She lives in Santa Cruz where she teaches creative writing to middle school students.
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Perugia Press Prize
for a First or Second Book by a Woman
Prize: $1000 and publication
Entry must be submitted between August 1 and November 15, 2016.
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You're invited!
Please come celebrate our 20th anniversary
November 10-15, 2016
Join us for readings by Perugia poets.
Join us for conversations about creativity, curiosity, translation, ekphrasis, work, and more.
Stay tuned for details. Save the dates.
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PO Box 60364, Florence, MA 01062
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