We are pleased to share that Gillian Conoley has selected Sara Dallmayr’s poem “Wax Mizmaze” for the 2025 Ralph Angel Poetry Prize.
Sara Dallmayr is originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she attended Western Michigan University. Dallmayr's work has appeared in Laurel Review, Third Coast, Sugar House Review, Penn Review, and others. She is a school librarian in South Bend, Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two cats.
“Wax Mizmaze” will be available as a limited-edition broadside designed by Ralph Angel Prize Resident Artist Talia Ryan. Check back for more information later this summer.
This year’s short list below. Thanks to all who submitted work and congratulations to Sara and the other poets recognized here.
SHORT LIST
Mary Christine Delea - “Protocol for the Forest”
Alison Gaines - “Amateur Hour”
Carolyn Oliver - “Fidelio”
Samuel Burt - “Greenhouse Suite”
Rebecca Yang - “ordering at 小美 restaurant”
Ralph Angel
Ralph Angel (1951-2020) was an American poet, translator, and educator. He was born in Seattle, Washington, as a second-generation American of Sephardic Jewish descent. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Washington and his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Irvine. He went on to become the Edith R. White Distinguished Professor at the University of Redlands, where he shaped the Creative Writing Department and taught for 39 years, and he was a beloved member of the MFA in Writing faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Angel’s published works included Anxious Latitudes (Wesleyan University Press, 1986); Neither World (Miami University Press, 1995), which received the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets; Twice Removed (Sarabande Books, 2001), which was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award; Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems 1986-2006 (Sarabande Books, 2006), honored with the 2007 PEN USA Award for Poetry; and Your Moon (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2013), which was awarded the 2013 Green Rose Poetry Prize. His translation of the Federico García Lorca collection, Poema del cante jondo / Poem of the Deep Song, (Sarabande Books, 2006) received a Willis Barnstone Poetry Translation Prize.
Angel’s poems have appeared in scores of magazines, and have been collected in numerous anthologies, including The Plume Anthology of Poetry, Pratik International, The Heart's Many Doors, The Best American Poetry, American Hybrid, Poets of the New Century, and Forgotten Language. Other awards included a gift from the Elgin Cox Trust, a Pushcart Prize, the Gertrude Stein Award, a Fulbright Foundation fellowship, and the Bess Hokin Award of the Modern Poetry Association.
Angel was a friend of Foundlings Press and contributed to the Strays series. His collection in Strays Pack 2 was his final publication before his passing on March 6, 2020.
Ralph left behind an incredible body of work, but he also left a legacy of support, guidance, and inspiration for younger poets as well as his contemporaries. We’re happy that, with Mary Angel’s blessing and assistance, we can honor Ralph in a way that feels continuous with his life’s work: By recognizing, honoring, and encouraging the work of other poets.
More information about Ralph and his poetry is available at https://ralphangel.com/.
Gillian Conoley
Gillian Conoley is a poet, editor, and translator. Often comprising narrative, lyric, and fragmented forms, her work takes up an inquiry into spirit and matter, the individual and the state. The author of ten collections of poetry, including Notes from the Passenger (Nightboat Books, 2023) Conoley received the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and a Fund for Poetry Award.
Conoley has taught at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the University of Denver, Vermont College, Tulane, and Sonoma State University. A long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, she is editor of VOLT magazine. Her translations of three books by Henri Michaux, Thousand Times Broken, appearing in English for the first time, is with City Lights. Conoley has collaborated with installation artist Jenny Holzer, composer Jamie Leigh Sampson, and Butoh dancer Judith Kajuwara.
About the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize
Foundlings Press introduced the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize in 2021, with the blessing of Mary Angel and assistance from generous friends. Held annually, this contest recognizes a single poem. The winning poet, selected by a guest judge, receives $250 and a limited-edition broadside publication of the winning poem.
We typically open for submissions each year in the spring and announce a winner in the summer. Check the News section of our site for updates.
Past winners and judges:
2024: Emily Schulten, “Lesson in Vocabulary: Faith,” selected by Richard Jackson
2023: Emma Aylor, “Moon Jar,” selected by Victoria Redel
2022: Emma Fuchs, “Sestina for Klein Blue,” selected by David St. John
2021: Margarita Serafimova, “The Biologists,” selected by Mary Ruefle