Maria Giura’s second book Celibate, A Memoir (Apprentice House Press, 2019) is about her struggle to hang onto her faith in the midst of trying to understand—and untangle herself from—her complex relationship with a Catholic priest. Her first book, What My Father Taught Me (Bordighera Press 2018), a collection of memory poems, was a finalist for the Paterson Book Prize. Her writing has also appeared in several journals including Prime Number, Presence, Italian Americana, VIA, Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival, Ovunque Siamo,Godspy, Lips, and Tiferet. She has won awards from the Academy of American Poets and the Center for Women Writers and is a judge for the Lauria/Frasca Poetry Prize. Maria has taught Literature and Writing at St. John’s University, Montclair State University, and Binghamton University where she received her PhD in English.