Maril Nowak has written poems, plays, essays, songs, and stories since she was old enough to fist a pencil. Major influences include Dorothy Meyer (grandmother, poet, and storyteller), Amelia Buran (Clayton Avenue Elementary School teacher), Phillip Sterling (Keuka College advisor), as well as Anthony Piccione and Lucille Clifton. Among other honors, Nowak’s poems have been awarded the Gwendolyn Brooks Prize at Michigan State University; a dramatic reading by the Poets and Writers League of Greater Cleveland; and an original orchestration/reading by Cleveland Composers’ Guild, Rocky River Chamber Orchestra, and professional actors. Other work has appeared in numerous small press issues and chapbooks, and CITY newspaper, which used to publish a weekly featured poet. Nowak is also a member of Writers & Books, Hammondsport Poets, Watkins Glen Poets, Alan Casline’s Rootdrinker Institute, and Bath Peace & Justice.