Lia Purpura

On Looking was a Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her poems and essays appear in: Agni, The New Yorker, Poetry, Orion, The Paris Review, The New Republic, The Georgia Review. Emergence, and elsewhere.

• Name — Lia Purpura • Born — 22 February 1964 • Birthplace — Mineola, New York • Education — Oberlin College; Iowa Writers' Workshop • Genres — Poetry; Essays

Lia Purpura grew up on Long Island, NY and received a BA from Oberlin College and an MFA, (as a Teaching-Writing Fellow) from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Lia Purpura served as Writer in Residence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Loyola University, Maryland, and taught at the low-residency MFA program The Rainier Writing Workshop. She had also taught at The Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, The Bennington Writing Program, The University of Iowa’s Nonfiction MFA program, The Minnesota Northwoods Conference, and served as Visting Writer at the Eastman School of Music, The Chautauqua Institution, and elsewhere.

• The Poulenc Trio: Creation, featuring Lia Purpura, poet, (Delos/Naxos, 2016)

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• (Translation) Artist’s Book, Letterpress, Artwork • Threadings. Artist’s Portfolio and Journal, and Essays (Agni, #102) • First Adventures in Beauty (SeeDouble Press) • Scream, or, Neverminding (Literary House Press, Washington College, MD)

• Title — |Year — |First published — |Reprinted/collected • Prayer — 2012 • Beginning — 2013

• Contemplify: Tending to the Spiritual Interior of Language • The Slowdown (introduced by Tracy K. Smith) • The New Yorker Podcasts: Lia Purpura Reads Carl Phillips and her own work • Poetry Society of America • Essay Daily