Now Available:
Mouthbrooders. Homebound Publications. Release date: June 2019.
The Comet’s Tail: A Memoir of No Memory. Little Bound Books. Release date: April 10, 2018.
Coming in June, 2019
Events:
Book Club Author Talk, at Byrd’s Books, Bethel Connecticut, featuring a discussion with me about The Comet’s Tail: A Memoir of No Memory. Sunday, June 3rd, 3:00 pm.
Book Expo America, Javitz Center, New York, New York, Book signing with Homebound Publications for The Comet’s Tail: A Memoir of No Memory. Thursday, May 31st, 3:00 pm, at the Midpoint Booth.
Recent News:
“Annotating the Self: Writing and Recovery,” PechaKucha Bridgeport, Vol. 1. May 9th, 2018.
“Explicating the Poetic Process,” Guest writer, Woven Tail Press. May 18, 2018
“Nawrocki’s Latest Release Looks Back at the Summer of No Memory,” by Shannon Hicks in The Newtown Bee, May 13, 2018.
Hamden Arts Commission / Hamden Symphony Orchestra Poetry Award–theme “Identity”. Second Place winner for “Circumstance.”
April Poetry Celebration, Barnes and Noble–UCONN/Hartford Bookstore. Friday, April 20, 2018, with Tony Fusco, Pat Mottola, and Christine Beck.
Phi Kapp Phi Forum, “Breakfast.” Fall 2017.
Honorable Mention, New Millennium Writings 43rd Annual Poetry Award for “Reading Lucretius at the DMV”
Poetry Reading at Byrd’s Books, Bethel Connecticut, featuring Amy Nawrocki, Jerry Brooker, Emily Carney, and Cortney Davis. Friday, May 18, 2018, 7:00.
“Return to Self,” profile in Gaylord Hospital’s Contributions Newsletter Winter 2017.
Saturday, April 15, 2017, West End Poetry Society, Poetry Reading and Fundraiser for the Mandell Multiple Sclerosis Center. A $20 donation helps to support the Center.
Saturday, April 22, 2017, Earth Day Hike, Bloomfield CT, with New England Trail Poet in Residence David K. Leff. Click for more information.
March 18, 2016, Canton Public Library, Poetry Reading to celebrate Women’s History Month. Voices of Poetry with Charles Forte and Gail Thomas.
November 29, 2016, Connecticut Forest and Park offices in Middlefield, CT, 7:00 p.m. Poetry reading with David K. Leff and Rennie McQuilkin.
October 8, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Byrd’s Books, Bethel Connecticut Poetry and Fiction Reading with Marilyn Nelson and Eric D. Lehman
Saturday, July 30, 2016, Old Lyme Midsummer Festival, Book signing for The History Press, 12:30-3:00.
Newtown Arts Festival, Newtown CT, Sunday, September 18. 1:30 p.m. Poetry Reading and book signing.
Voices of Poetry, Poetry in a Minor Key, Minor Memorial Library, Saturday April 23, 2016, Roxbury, CT
Poetry Reading, Byrd’s Books, Friday, April 15, 2016Bethel, CT
Poetry of the Earth: Reading and Gallery Show, Sunday, April 10, 2016, Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, Westerly, R.I.
Presentation on on Connecticut Food and Wine, March 21, 2016, Milford Public Library
“Triage: The Language of Animals.” Panel discussion for Creative Writing and Rescue Animals, March 17, 2016. NeMLA Regional Conference, Hartford, CT.
Presentation on Connecticut Food and Wine, February 27, 2016, Berlin Public Library.
Finding Your Inner Alice, Writing Workshop, Hamden Public Library, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. 7-9 pm.
Housatonic Writers in the Classroom, “Who Am I: Crafting a Voice in Poetry.” Lecture, Tues. Oct. 6. 12:30 p.m. Lafayette Hall, Housatonic Community College.
Voices of Poetry, Sunday, August 23, Hopkins Vineyard, New Preston
Bethany Public Library, Bethany, CT, July 7, 2015; 6:00 pm. Presentation for A History of Connecticut Food/Wine.
Enfield Library, Enfield, CT, June 30, 2015; 7:00 pm Presentation for A History of Connecticut Food/Wine.
Madison Senior Center, Madison, CT, June 29, 2015; 12:00 pm. Private presentation for A History of Connecticut Food/Wine.
Riverwood Poetry Series, May 14, 2015. 7:00 p.m., the Music Room–Asylum Hill Congregational Church. Reading with Jasmine Dream Wagner.
Release of Reconnaissance, April 7, 2015. Pre-order begins March 2015 from Homebound Publications.
Additional Journal Publications and Awards
Honorable Mention, New Millennium Writings 43rd Annual Poetry Award for “Reading Lucretius at the DMV” 2017
Finalist, Pangea Prize, The Poet’s Billow, “Returns.” 2017
di*verse*city Anthology, Austin International Poetry Festival, “What I Forgot to Ask” 2017
Connecticut Woodlands, “The Ravens of West Rock” and “Otherwise Tundra” 2017
The Wayfarer, “Secrets of the Ornithologist,” “Aster Place” 2017
Sixfold, “Waiting for the Plowman,” “Literally,” “Bad Girls”, “Instead of Poems,” and “Field Guide to North American Birds.” 2016
“Solving for the Unknown.” Second Prize Connecticut River Review Contest, Fall 2015, Connecticut Poetry Society.
Interview, “Reconnaissance: The Poetry of Amy Nawrocki.” Nutmeg Chatter. 1 July 2015.
“Smoke of Ambergris,” in Lay Bare the Canvas: New England Poets on Art. See a link to a reading of the poem below.
Phi Kappa Phi Forum, “The Uncurtained Window.” Winner, Poetry Prize.
Reckless Writing 2013 Poetry Anthology: “Numerology,” “Becoming a Cannibal” and “Ascending and Descending.”
Illuminations, issue 29: “Achilles, Swift Runner,” and “The World of Ideas”
JMWW, “Lucifer Falls, New York.” Read about the “Origins” of the poem on the JMWW Blog.
The Wayfarer, “West Woods Cemetery” and “How to Say Goodbye.”
Yes, Poetry Journal, “The Thinker as Poet”
Tuesday, September 16, 2014: Presentation of Literary Connecticut, Miller Library, Hamden CT.
Saturday, October 18, 2014: Voices of Poetry C.H. Booth Library, Newtown CT.
Sunday, July 13, 2014: Voices of Poetry: Poetry Al Fresco, Washington Art Association, 4 Bryan Hall Plaza, Washington Depot, CT.
Thursday, July 24, 2014: Farmington Library, Presentation A History of Connecticut Wine and A History of Connecticut Food.
April, March 26, 2014; 11-4 PM: Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Book signing and presentation for Literary Connecticut, A History of Connecticut Wine and A History of Connecticut Food
Sunday, June 15, 2014; Essex Books, Ivoryton, CT, Poetry Reading of Four Blue Eggs. Reading with poet David Leff.
Sunday, June 29, 2014; Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT. Books signing for Literary Connecticut.
Friday, April 11, 2014; Broad Street Books, Wesleyan University, Poetry Reading Four Blue Eggs
Tuesday, February 11, 2014; 7:15 PM: Presentation at Ashlar Village: A History of Connecticut Food
Thursday, February 27,2014; 4:30 PM, Necessary Voices Lecture, Reading from Four Blue Eggs
Saturday March 1, 2014; 7:00 PM, Byrd’s Books, Bethel, CT: Poetry Reading, Four Blue Eggs
Saturday, March 8, 2014; , 4-8 PM: Voices of Poetry–On the Vine, Hopkins Vineyard, New Preston, CT
Loft Poetry Gala, June 2013, “Smoke of Ambergris”
New Year’s Round Table, Best Video, Hamden, CT, “The Fiddlehead’s Return“
University of Bridgeport, “Babka”
Additional Publicity
Newtown Bee: Friday, March 7, 2014
“Six Questions with Poet Amy Nawrocki,” The Wayfarer, spring 2014
Promotional video for the University of Bridgeport
Finalist for the Homebound Publication Poetry Prize for Four Blue Eggs. The collection will be published in February 2014.
Finalist for the 2013 Loft Prize for Poetry for “Smoke of Ambergris” a poem based on John Singer Sargent’s painting. The poem will be published in the upcoming anthology. See video of the reading.
Eric and Amy capped off the Connecticut Authors Trail in September, 2013 at Mohegan Sun.
Catch Amy and Eric on Ann Nyberg
More about A History of Connecticut Food, see Eric’s post on Books New Haven
Essays
“Choosing Peregrine” in Wildness: Voices in the Sacred Landscape. Homebound Publications.
“Unspoken Connections: How I Learned To Love Punctuation,” University of Bridgeport Faculty Essay Series.
“Conversing with the World,” Closing Thoughts from UB’s Alumni Magazine Knightlines.
“Some Thoughts on Poetry” blog post for Books New Haven
Awards:
- Winner, Phi Kappa Phi Forum Poetry Contest, “The Uncurtained Window”, 2014.
- Finalist, Four Blue Eggs, Homebound Publication Poetry Prize, 2013.
- Finalist, “Smoke of Ambergris,” The Loft Poetry Prize, 2013.
- Honorable Mention. “Still Life with Parsnips and Snow.” The Newtowner International Poetry Contest, 2012.
- First Place, Phi Kappa Phi Poetry Award, “The Mail Drop.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Feb. 2012.
- Finalist, Phi Kappa Phi Poetry Award. “’A Great Deal of Company.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Spring 2011.
- Wesleyan Writers Conference, Wesleyan University, June 2010.
- Winner, The Litchfield Reivew Writing Contest, 2007
- Finalist, Potato Eaters, The Codhill Press Chapbook Competition, 2007
- Honorable Mention, New Millennium Writings, Spring 2008
- Honorable Mention, 2007 Brodine / Brodinski Contest, Connecticut Poetry Society
- Semifinalist, 2006 Paumanok Poetry Award, The Visiting Writer’s Program, Farmingdale State College, Farmingdale, NY
- Honorable Mention, Adelaide Award, Amaze Cinquain Journal, March 2007
- Second Place, Honorable Mention, 1993 Joseph Brodine Award for Poetry, Connecticut PoetrySociety
Review of Four Blue Eggs by Leslie McGrath
Amy Nawrocki’s poems celebrate preservation and renewal in New England landscapes. Births, deaths, and the whimsical appearance of the mysterious—all are welcomed as the poet invites us to “light the light that will unblind us.” Nawrocki is a deft observer of the beauty of work, be it pickling or pulling a quahog from the muck. The weathered and the wasting, too, are treated with wonder by this poet who describes a bygone farm in which pumpkins in a field are “sitting like children watching a magic show.”
Leslie McGrath is the author of Opulent Hunger, Opulent Rage
Review of Potato Eaters by Pauline Uchmanowicz:
In Amy Nawrocki’s sensitive, self-assured Potato Eaters an intimate portrait of family life is unearthed and its tenacious roots revealed: deeply personal as well as deeply universal. A mother-daughter slipknot loosely binds the collection, grounded in domestic settings and situations that unify backyard swing sets and refinanced mortgages, kite flying and grocery shopping. Fertilized overall by rich, elemental imagery in which the seasons personified may appear as vulnerable but also everlasting, Nawrocki’s poems remind one how the child is mother to the woman.
Pauline Uchmanowicz is the author of Sand & Traffic and the Series Editor of the Codhill Poetry Chapbook Prize
Review of Nomad’s End by Dick Allen:
What obsesses poet Amy Nawrocki? Colors (“mango light of sunrise”), travel (“towns opened like day lilies”), time (“we flame into the now”), how days begin and conclude, the foreshadowing process of leaving for places and returning from them, and most especially water and sky. Her new collection, Nomad’s End, has lovely descriptions, expert synesthesia, tactile renderings, and certain closures. These are poems of the tides—sensual, precise, joyous, loving, and truly, truly fine.
Dick Allen is the Connecticut Poet Laureate and author of Present Vanishing: Poems and Ode to the Cold War: Poems New and Selected
Review of Lune de Miel by John Guzlowski:
From the first stanza of the first poem in this amazing collection, you know Amy Nawrocki is ready to transport you through the magic of her love poems to some exotic, crazy, and unimaginable place–a lover’s Paris. Her descriptions of Parisian paintings and monuments blend with the story of two lovers honeymooning in the City of Light to create a sensuous tapestry that draws you in like the great paintings by Gauguin, Chagall, and Monet she writes about. These poems are lush and human.
John Guzlowski is the author of Lightning and Ashes and the Third Winter: Buchenwald.
Amy Nawrocki 
Nice post