Beth Ann Gylys (born 1964

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in New Jersey, the state's 16th-most-populous ...

) 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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

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, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

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

Early life and education

Gylys grew up in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania, and graduated from

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

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, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

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

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. She has also attended the Stonecoast Writers Conference in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

Career

Gylys formerly taught at

Mercyhurst College Mercyhurst University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. History On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away from the city's southern boundary. It was founded by the Si ...

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

. 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 new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'', ''

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 ficti ...

'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, 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. ''T ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', ''

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''. She received a

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

fellowship in 2001. In 2023 Georgia State University received a

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

grant to start a literary journal called ''Beyond Bars''. Gylys is the principal investigator for the project which connects incarcerated individuals can contribute writings and artwork for the journal. The journal's board includes four graduate students and three incarcerated students.

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'' was 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. She was a featured guest poet at the January 2013 meeting of the Georgia Poetry Society.

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.

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, * ''After My Father: A Book of Odes'', Dancing Girl Press, 2024

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,

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 States ...

, 2013, * ''Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology'', Madville Publishing, 2023

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