Marsha de la O. (2009)

Marsha de la O's first book of poetry, Black Hope, won the New Issues Press Poetry Prize and a Small Press Editor's Choice Award. It has recently gone into a second edition. She is the winner of the dA Poetry Award and the Ventura Poetry Festival Contest, and has published in a number of literary journals. de la O received an MFA in Poetry Writing from Vermont College and is currently co-editor for the literary journal Askew. She was raised in the Los Angeles area and lives in Ventura, CA with her husband and daughter. Recently retired, she taught disadvantaged grammar school students for over 20 years. She was Director of the 2009 Poetry Out Loud Competition of Ventura County, a recitation contest for kids funded by the National Education Association.

2009 Festival Details | More About Marsha de la O.