Cynthia Gallaher

My newest publication is a hybrid memoir "Match Heads: My Conversations with Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber," Southern Illinois University Press, 2027. Most of my poetry collections have themes: "Epicurean Ecstasy: More Poems About Food, Drink, Herbs & Spices" (The Poetry Box, 2018); "Earth Elegance" (March Abrazo Press, Chicago, 2000) poems on animals and the environment; "Swimmer’s Prayer" (Missing Spoke Press, Seattle, 1999), poems about Chicago; and "Night Ribbons" (Polar Bear Press, Chicago, 1990); and three chapbooks, including "Drenched" (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2018) poems about liquids. Also a nonfiction memoir, reference and guide, "Frugal Poets' Guide to Life: How to Live a Poetic Life, Even If You Aren't a Poet" (Bookbaby, 2016), which won a National Indie Excellence Award. I have received numerous grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs for both poetry and theater writing, and from the Illinois Arts Council, and have been honored by the Illinois Library Association and the Illinois State Library. My poems are featured in various anthologies, including "Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Up the Jams" (Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, 2010), "Stand Up Poetry: An Expanded Anthology" (University of Iowa Press, 2002) and "Boomer Girls: Poems by Women from the Baby Boom Generation" (University of Iowa Press, 1999). Pearson/Scott Foresman published three of my short plays, which appear in its middle school textbooks. More than 300 of my poems have been published in small press magazines and anthologies. One of my poems will be sent on a NASA flight to the south pole of the moon later this decade.