Lois Roma-Deeley

Poet

Phoenix, AZ
Arizona US

Author's Bio

Lois Roma-Deeley, Poet Laureate, Scottsdale, Arizona, is the author of six collections of poetry: Waiting for the Mercy Ship (2025); Like Water in the Palm of My Hand, (2022);  The Short List of Certainties, the Jacopone da Todi Poetry Book Series Award winner (2017); High Notes, a Paterson Poetry Prize finalist (2010); northSight (2006); and Rules of Hunger (2004). She was named 2012-2013 U.S Professor of the Year-Community College by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and CASE. Roma-Deeley is published in numerous anthologies including Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day and Villanelles (Everyman's Library, Pocket Poets Series, 2012). Roma-Deeley has won awards and honors for her poetry. Her poems appear in scores of literary journals in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In collaborations with visual artists on several ekphrasis projects, Roma-Deeley’s poems have been exhibited nationally and internationally. She’s taught creative writing at the graduate and undergraduate levels and has served as creative writing judge at the national, state and local levels. Roma-Deeley holds an MFA from Arizona State University in poetry  where she studied under the direction of Rita Dove, Norman Dubie and Alberto Rios. She holds a Ph.D. with a primary emphasis in poetry from the Union Institute and University. She is Associate Editor of the international poetry journal Presence.  https://www.loisroma-deeley.com/

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Without a Doubt (NYQ Books, 2021)
,
Odes and Elegies: Eco-Poetry from the Texas Gulf Coast anthology (Lamar University Literary Press, 2020)
,
Gyroscope Review Third Anniversity Issuse (CreateSpace, 2018)
,
Political Punch: The Poetics of Identity Anthology (Sundress Publications, 2016)
,
Love Rise Up (Benu Press, 2012)
,
VILLANELLES (Everyman's Pocket Poetry Series) (Random House, 2012)
,
New Hungers for Old: One-Hundred Years of Italian-American Poetry (Star Cloud Press, 2011)
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The American Voice in Poetry: the Legacy of Whitman, Williams, and Ginsberg (pccc, 2010)
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Letters to the World (Red Hen Press, 2007)
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"e"--The 2002 Emily Dickinson Awards Anthology (Universities West Press, 2002)
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"e"-The 2001 Emily Dickinson Award Anthology (Universities West Press, 2001)
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"e"-The 2000 Emily Dickinson Award Anthology (Universities West Press, 2000)
,
Classical Antiquity (Pig Iron Press, 1994)
,
la bella figura: a choice (Malafemmina Press, 1993)
,
Looking For Home: Women Writing About Exile (Milkweed Editions, 1990)
Books:
Waiting for the Mercy Ship (Broadstone Books, 2025)
,
Like Water in the Palm of My Hand (Kelsay Books, 2022)
,
The Short List of Certainties (Franciscan University Press, 2017)
,
High Notes (Benu Press, 2010)
,
NorthSight (Singularity Press, 2006)
,
Rules of Hunger (Star Cloud Press, 2004)
Journals:
5 AM
, ,
Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day
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Alyss
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And / Or
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Artemis
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Artful Dodge
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Best Poem
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Big City Lit
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Blue Heron Review
, , ,
Calapooya Collage
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California Quarterly
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Columbia Poetry Review
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Comstock Review
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Confluence
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Constellations
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Controlled Burn
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Elixir
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EXPOUND
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Faultline
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Halfway Down the Stairs
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Helen
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Iris
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Italian Americana
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Juked
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Lips
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Muddy River Poetry Review
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Muleskinner Journal
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Nonbinary Review
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One Art
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Open: Journal of Arts & Letters
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Orbis: An International Quarterly Of Prose And Fiction
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Oregon Review
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Panoply
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Parentheses
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Pensive: A Global Journal of Spirituality and the Arts
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Presence
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Rabbit
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Redux
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Riddled With Arrows
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Riverrun
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Sonic Boom
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Spillway
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Studio
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TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics
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The Citron Review
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The New York Quarterly
,
The Tishman Review
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The Transnational
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The Wallace Stevens Journal
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Timbuktu
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Twelve Mile Review
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Verse-Virtual
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Waterstone
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WORDPEACE
, ,
Performance:
Poetic Dialogue: Poetry:Women: Art Project 2005 (2005)
Prizes won: 

 Poet Laureate, Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacopone da Todi Poetry Book Series Award; Arizona Commission on the Arts Grant Recipient; High Notes, finalist, Paterson Poetry Prize; U.S Professor of the Year, Community College (named by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and CASE); ariZONI Excellence in Theatre Award Nominee, Original Script, Adult Play or Musical “The Ballad of Downtown Jake” (based on High Notes);Tiferet Writing Contest, top ten finalist; SCCC Keynote Speaker; New Millennium Writing Award Finalist; Ariozna Commission on the Arts Research Grant;AWP (Associationof Writers and Writing Programs) George Garrett Award Nominee; The Short List of Certainties, Trio House Press, Open Reading, semi-finalist; Dan Shilling Public Humanities Scholar Award Nominee, 2015; Accepted as a Fulbright Specialist candidate, 2012-2017; Residency Fellowships, Ragdale, Lake Forest, IL, 2003, 2005, 2009; 2011; Patterson Poetry Prize Finalist;  Pacific Regional Faculty Member Award, ACCT (Association of Community College Trustees; Woman of Distinction, Women’s Leadership Group, Maricopa Community Colleges, 2013; Allen Ginsberg Poetry Competition; Emily Dickinson Poetry Prize; Paumanok Internationl Poetry contest (finalist); "Making a Difference for Women Award," Sorroptimist International; Woman of Distinction, Women's Leadership Group, Maricopa County;

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Italian American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Born in: 
Amityville, NY
New York
Raised in: 
North Babylon, NY
New York
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Apr 05, 2024