ANDRENA ZAWINSKI, a native of Pittsburgh, PA, now lives in Oakland, California where she teaches writing for Laney Community College and St. Mary's College.

Zawinski is the author of a full collection of poetry, Traveling in Reflected Light, issued from Pig Iron Press as a Kenneth Patchen competition winner; a chapbook, Andrena Zawinski's Greatest Hits 1991-2001, part of the invitational and archival series from Pudding House; an online collection of Elegies at The Pittsburgh Quarterly.

Her individual publications are many and include work that has appeared in Gulf Coast, Quarterly West, Santa Clara Review, Nimrod International, Paterson Literary Review, and many more. Her poetry also has been showcased online at For Poetry, Disquieting Muses, On the Page, Adirondack Review, and elsewhere. Zawinski is Feature Editor at PoetryMagazine.com, is a volunteer with the Robert Hass Lunch Poems reading series at U C Berkeley, and is on the editorial board for UnitedPoets.org. These poems are from her current manuscript seeking a publisher.

We had many entries this year and they were of the highest calibre, but this poem struck a chord in all who read it. I know you will agree that it is superbly written! I would also like you to know that Andrena has a full collection, a print chapbook, and an online chapbook. For information on purchasing Traveling in Reflected Light or Zawinski's Greatest Hits 1991-2001, Email Adrena at...

artwork by Michael Simms

Elegies For My Mother
(To Be Read online)