Beth A. Gylys is a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and professor of English and Creative Writing at Georgia State University

Georgia State University

Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...

.

Gylys grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Allegheny College

Allegheny College

Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...

 with a Bachelors Degree in 1986. She went on to receive a Masters Degree from Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

 and a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing from University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

. She has also attended the Stonecoast Writers Conference

Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing

The Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing is a graduate program in creative writing based at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. It enrolls approximately 100 students in four major genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and popular fiction...

 in Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

.

Dr. Gylys formerly taught at Mercyhurst College

Mercyhurst College

Mercyhurst College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.-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 Sisters of Mercy of the Erie Diocese, who were led by Mother M. Borgia...

 in Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

. She is married to Dr. Thomas Forsthoefel

Thomas Forsthoefel

Thomas Forsthoefel is a professor of religious studies at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, as well as a poet and author. He has a special interest in Hinduism and Buddhism and has written on both new religious movements and established traditions within these faiths, while his own...

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

Erie County, Pennsylvania

Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...

, Poet Laureate

Poet Laureate

A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...

.

Her poems have appeared in The Paris Review, The Southern Review, The Kenyon Review

The Kenyon Review

The Kenyon Review is a Literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, USA, 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

The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...

, The Antioch Review, and The Columbia Review. Her book of personal ads, titled Matchbook, has been set to music by composer Dan Welcher

Dan Welcher

Dan Welcher is an American composer, conductor, and music educator.- Biography :Welcher was born in Rochester, New York and earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, studying bassoon, piano, and composition...

.

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

Collections of poems

• Balloon Heart, Wind Publications, 1997, ISBN 9780963654588
• Bodies that Hum Silverfish Review Press, 1999, ISBN 9781878851123
• Spot in the Dark, Ohio State University Press, 2004, ISBN 9780814209813
• Matchbook, La Vita Poetica Press, 2007, ISBN 097861593x

Anthology Appearances

• American Poetry: the Next Generation, Gerald Costanzo, Jim Daniels Eds, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2000, ISBN 9780887483370
• Anthology of Best Magazine Verse (1996)
• "Beyond the Map Edge", Under the Rock Umbrella: Contemporary American Poets from 1951–1977, Editor William J. Walsh, Mercer University Press, 2006, ISBN 9780881460476
• "Preference", The best American erotic poems: from 1800 to the present, Editor David Lehman, Scribner Poetry, 2008, ISBN 9781416537458

Poems

• "Who You Are"; "Soul Sister Seeks Soul Sister"; "To One Who Can't Leave", Caffeine Destiny
• "Marriage Song", Paris Review
• "What the Evil Things", Dappled Things, 2009
• "THE PILGRIMAGE", Blue Moon Review
• "My Savior In the Form of a Bus"
• "Hard Luck"
• "Do not dive head-first into that puddle of mud"
• "Preference"
• "Personal"
• "The Spectator"

External links

• "Beth Gylys Interviewed by Josephine Yu", The Southeast Review, February 1, 2010
• Beth Gylys on The Joe Milford Poetry Show, July 20, 2009
• Where the poem comes from: Beth Gylys