Maria Gillan was the final judge for the inaugural Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award. Edwin Romond of Wind Gap, PA is the inaugural award winner. Romond’s manuscript, Man at the Railing, will be published in Spring 2023 by NYQ Books. The award also includes a $5,000 prize, 25 author copies and a featured reading.
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| Edwin Romond |
Maria Mazziotti Gillan was a longtime friend of Laura Boss. “Because all the finalist manuscripts were beautiful and moving in different ways, this was a very difficult choice to make. I finally selected Edwin’s manuscript because the poems reminded me of Laura. After I chose the manuscript and found out whose manuscript it was, I felt that I was right because I remembered that he is a poet whose work Laura loved and admired and I felt that my choice would have made Laura very happy."
Her son, Barry Boss, who created the Laura Boss Poetry Foundation in her memory said “I can think of no more fitting tribute to my mother than the work of the Foundation. In her last days in hospice, the notion that her legacy would live on through the continued publication of Lips and the Narrative Poetry Award brought her comfort and joy during a difficult time. She would have loved Man at the Railing and been impressed with all of the finalists’ manuscripts.”
For a list of the five finalists and information on the Foundation, the award, and Lips poetry magazine, see laurabosspoetryfoundation.org
Maria Mazziotti Gillan's new poetry collection is When the Stars Were Still Visible (2021). Other recent publications are the poetry and photography collection, Paterson Light and Shadow and the poetry collections What Blooms in Winter and The Girls in the Chartreuse Jackets which pairs her poems with her paintings. Maria's artist's website is MariaMazziottiGillan.com and her poetry website is MariaGillan.com.
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