The Beals Memorial Library has announced that Maya Maria, a poet from Lowell, is a finalist in the 2024 Beals Prize for Poetry. This year’s competition attracted 85 poets from across the state and is now in its fifth year.
The award ceremony will take place at the library on Thursday, September 26, at 7 p.m. During the event, the top 10 finalists will read their poems. Following the readings, a panel of three judges will announce the winners. The contest will award prize money of $250 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third.
Maya Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from UMass Lowell. In addition to being a piano teacher and nature enthusiast, she writes poetry that reflects on the past and its impact on identity. Her poem “Legacy” was included in Mass Poetry’s 2023 Intercollegiate Poetry Festival Chapbook, where she represented UMass Lowell. Her work has also appeared in “The Offering” (2023) and will be featured in “Mulberry Literary” (Spring 2025). Maria has participated in GBH’s Outspoken Saturdays, hosted by Amanda Shea at the Boston Public Library, and her readings are available on GBH’s YouTube channel. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems.
The contest’s jurors include Amy Gordon from Gill, winner of the 2023 Elyse Wolf Chapbook Prize; Janet MacFadyen from Amherst, managing editor of Slate Roof Press; and Sara Letourneau from Foxboro, the current holder of the Beals Prize for Poetry.
The Beals Memorial Library is located at 50 Pleasant St. For more information, call the library at 978-297-0300. This event is partially funded by a grant from the Winchendon Cultural Council and the Friends of the Beals Memorial Library.