Alpay K. Ulku

Alpay Ulku's first collection is Meteorology (BOA Editions), which was selected as an "Notable Debut" by the Academy of American Poets book club.

His poems have appeared in literary journals such as Agni, The American Poetry Review, the Antioch Review, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Epoch, The Fiddlehead, Field, The Gettysburg Review, The Malahat Review, The Northwest Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Northwest, and Witness, among others. His work has been anthologized in American Poetry: The Next Generation; Poetry Daily; and City of the Big Shoulders: an Anthology of Chicago Poetry. His poem Three Rivers was selected by senior Slate editor Michael Agger for their "Best Valentine's Day poems" feature, and his poem The Stiller of Atoms was selected by the Penn Center for the Book Public Poetry Project to be made into a poster and distributed to schools and libraries throughout Pennsylvania.

His unpublished second collection, The Stiller of Atoms, was a finalist at the National Poetry Series Open Competition (50 finalists out of 1,100 manuscripts submitted)in 2013 and 2016,and was a finalist for the Cleveland State University Open Competition for second book award.

Alpay's commentary about poems and poetics include an explication of "The Second Coming" for Poetry Daily in 2013, and "On Orwell, Dystopia, Writing as Resistance, and Trust" for Beloit Poetry Journal in 2013 as well.

Alpay has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Iowa Arts Council, the Edna St.Vincent Millay Colony, and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation.

Alpay received an MFA from the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop and a BA from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands.

Alpay lives with his wife, the writer Anne-Marie Ulku, and their two boys, Snapdragon and Wookie-Wu (Lickedy-Split, rest in peace. You were a part of our heart.)