Catie Rosemurgy

Catie Rosemurgy is the author of two collections of poetry, My Favorite Apocalypse and The Stranger Manual, both with Graywolf Press. Her most recent work is a chapbook of poems from  Bloof Books called First the Burning. She’s the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. She lives in Philadelphia and teaches at The College of New Jersey. 

The Value of Support

"I received a Rona Jaffe Award early in my career, as my first book was coming out, and it completely changed how I thought about myself as writer. I wanted to fight for my work, get out there and stand up for my noisy and impolite poems about being a woman, but I had a hard time putting myself forward as an author. I wasn’t sure how the title applied to me, how to wear it. I was always on the verge of taking a risk and doing something big, and then the award gave me the push and support I needed. I put together a book tour that crossed the country and took time off from work to give readings. I read in bars, bookstores, colleges, and coffee shops. I grew up as writer and stopped thinking of myself as an imposter or outsider who needed to ask for permission. Or at least I learned how to talk myself out of being overwhelmed by those feelings. I built the book tour I wanted—coast to coast, following the scenic routes, visiting lots of small towns and out of the way places where writers build unexpected lives and books and communities."

News

I recently published new poems in The Collagist and Sixth Finch and have more forthcoming in American Poetry Review, The Believer, Beloit Poetry Journal, Blackbird, Ploughshares, and Poetry.