Maria Gray

Maria Gray is an Oregonian poet in New York who supports the Palestinian liberation struggle. Her work is forthcoming from or published by ONLY POEMS, Best New Poets, underblong, @grieftolight on Instagram, and others, and she has previously been nominated for inclusion in Best of the Net and Best Spiritual Literature. In 2023, she received the John Tagliabue Award for Creative Writing from Bates College. She started her MFA at NYU as a Departmental Poetry Fellow that fall and will finish it elsewhere (see first sentence). In 2024, she was named as a Djanikian Scholars semifinalist by The Adroit Journal and longlisted for both Nine Syllables Press' annual chapbook contest and ONLY POEMS' Poet of the Year Prize; her Poet of the Week feature was the second-most popular publication on ONLY POEMS' website that year. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she edits COUNTERCLOCK Journal and coordinates the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers' National Student Poets Program.publications & honorseditorialinstagramcontacthelp the alghorah family evacuate gaza

interviews & reviews

readings & events

selected poems

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honors

  • Semifinalist, Nine Syllables Press Chapbook Contest (2024)

  • Nominee, Best Spiritual Literature, ONLY POEMS: "Light Being Light" (2024)

  • Top 30, ONLY POEMS, Poet of the Year Prize (2024)

  • Semifinalist, The Adroit Journal, Djanikian Scholars in Poetry (2024)

  • Finalist, poetry.onl, 2024 Chapbook Series Fellowship (2023)

  • Longlist, surging tide mag, Annual Summer Writing Contest (2023)

  • Recipient, Bates College, John Tagliabue Award for Creative Writing (2023)

  • Nominee, Best of the Net: The Lumiere Review, Ice Lolly Review, COUNTERCLOCK Journal (2022)

  • Finalist and contributor, Best New Poets: "Where Were You When Mac Miller Died" (2022)

  • Winner, The Lumiere Review, Open Writing Contest: "Rhythm 0" (2022)

  • Semifinalist, The Adroit Journal, Adroit Prizes for Poetry: "Where Were You When Mac Miller Died" (2021)

  • Microgrant Recipient, COUNTERCLOCK Arts Collective (2019)

  • Recipient, Bates College, Alice Jane Dinsmore Wandke Award (2019)

fellowships & programs

  • Poetry Mentor, SUNHOUSE Summer Writing Mentorship (2024)

  • Departmental Poetry Fellow, New York University Creative Writing Program (2023)

  • Writing Fellow, COUNTERCLOCK Arts Collective (2019)

work with me!

I provide editorial services including developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. I can help you with anything from artist bios to poetry chapbooks to application essays. Please contact me via email for rates and work samples. Full CV available upon request.I currently serve as Managing Editor of COUNTERCLOCK Journal, and have previously held positions at Washington Square Review, Snaggletooth Magazine, and Black Lawrence Press. I also perform editorial work within my position at the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers' National Student Poets Program.Please get in touch—I look forward to working with you!back to top