Lori Rottenberg

Poet

Arlington, VA
Virginia US
Email: 
lrottenb@gmu.edu
Website: 
lrottenberg.weebly.com

Author's Bio

 

Lori Rottenberg has shared her poetry, flash, creative non-fiction, and poetry reviews in many journals, anthologies, and even podcasts, most recently in Literary Mama, Club Plum, Tupelo Quarterly, Mid-Atlantic Review, december, Pleiades, and Viewless Wings. She received Honorable Mention in the 2024 Passager Poetry Contest, one of her poems was picked for the 2021 Arlington Moving Words competition to appear on county buses, and she served as a visiting poet in Arlington Public Schools for over a decade. She holds an MFA in Poetry from George Mason University, where she teaches writing to international students and poetry to Honors College students.

Education: 
George Mason University MFA

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Journey to Crone (Chuffed Buff Books, 2013)
,
Daring to Repair (Wising Up Press, 2012)
Journals:
Artemis
,
Black Buzzard Review
,
Burningword Literary Journal
,
Club Plum Literary Journal
,
december
,
Jewish Writing Project
,
Mid-Atlantic Review
,
Minyan Magazine
,
Passager
,
Pleiades
,
Poetica
,
Potomac Review
,
The Dewdrop
,
UCity Review
,
Viewless Wings
,
WWPH Writes
Prizes won: 
  • John V. A. Weaver Prize in Poetry, Hamilton College, 1987 
  • Joaquin Miller Cabin Series Invited Poet, 2002 
  •  “The Shamash Is the Tall One,” Arlington Reads Poetry Competition Finalist, 2006
  • “Grandpa, Where'd You Get Your Grey Eyes?” Poetica Best in Issue Award, March 2009
  •  “Second Born,” Arlington Moving Words Competition (1 of 6 winners), 2021
  • “You Drive Like a Man,” Honorable Mention, Passager Poetry Contest, 2024
  • Some of the Ways I Might Not Have Been Born, Semi-Finalist, WordWorks 2024 Washington Prize
  • The Enchantress Queen and The Ghost Who Made Me, Winner, Livingston Press 2025 Changing Light Novel-in-Verse Contest

 

   

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Contemporary Poets: Natasha Trethewey, Ada Limon, Jose Olivarez, Craig Santos Perez, Roger Kamenetz, Dorianne Laux, Layli Long Soldier, Sharon Olds, Robert Pinsky Contemporary Novelists: Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich, Salman Rushdie

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Arlington, VA
Virginia
Raised in: 
Arlington, VA
Virginia
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Oct 23, 2025