Mary Koncel is an American 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...

 who has published two books of poetry.

She was born and raised in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and holds a BFA in Poetry from Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...

 and MFA in English from MFA Program for Poets & Writers

MFA Program for Poets & Writers

The MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a graduate creative writing program.-History:The MFA Program for Poets & Writers was founded in the 1960s by poet Joseph Langland and is part of the English Department at the University of Massachusetts...

 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

. She now lives in Worthington, Massachusetts

Worthington, Massachusetts

Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,270 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 with her husband. Koncel co-designed and teaches in the Writing Program of the Smith College

Smith College

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

 School for Social Work. She is also a writing consultant to the Department of Public Health - AIDS Bureau in Boston, Massachusetts.

Grants and awards

• 1996 - Poetry Grant, Massachusetts Cultural Council

She was also a finalist for the Norma Farber First Book Award.

Books

• Closer to the Day (1999) - Quale Press
• You Can Tell The Horse Anything - Tupelo Press

Other publications - anthologies

• The Party Train: A Collection of North American Prose Poetry
• No Boundaries: Prose Poems by 24 American Poets (edited by Ray Gonzalez)
• The Best of the Prose Poem: An International Journal
• Real Things: An Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry
• Ladies, Start Your Engines: Women Writing on Cars and on the Road

Journal publications

• The Massachusetts Review
• The Journal
• The Illinois Review
• key satch(el)
• Denver Quarterly
• The Prose Poem: An International Journal