Sugar House Review / Poet Hillary Gravendyk Win Inclusion in 2015 Pushcart Prize Anthology

Independent poetry magazine Sugar House Review is thrilled to announce the inclusion of Hillary Gravendyk’s poem “Your Ghost” in The Pushcart Prize XXXIX: Best of the Small Presses Anthology (2015 edition). The editors of Sugar House Review nominated the poem, which originally appeared in the magazine’s ninth issue, Fall/Winter 2013. Most work published in Sugar House Review is submitted by unsolicited poets, but Gravendyk was solicited in early 2013 based on the strength of her full-length collection, Harm (Omnidawn), which chronicled the poet’s struggles from a 2009 double lung transplant. A prolonged illness led to Gravendyk’s untimely death at the age of 35, in May of 2014.

Sugar House Review #9

Each year, small presses throughout the United States submit thousands of literary works (poetry, fiction, and nonfiction) for potential Pushcart Prize selection. Each press can nominate up to six pieces, and additional works are nominated by Pushcart’s contributing editors. The Pushcart Prize XXXIX: Best of the Small Presses anthology received approximately 8,000 nominations, representing over 700 small presses. Inclusion in this anthology is an incredible honor for both the writer and the press which first published the work. The anthology should be available for purchase in the fall of 2015.

Founded in 2009, Sugar House Review is a semi-annual literary magazine that publishes poetry and reviews of books of poetry. It takes its name from the charming and pedestrian-friendly Sugar House neighborhood in Salt Lake City. This is Sugar House Review’s fourth Pushcart Prize, previous Pushcart inclusions include Paul Muldoon’s "Capriccio in E Minor for Blowfly and Strings,” Patricia Smith’s “Laugh Your Troubles Away!” and Carl Phillips “Your Body Down in Gold.” Work first appearing in Sugar House Review has also appeared in Verse Daily and Poetry Daily. Sugar House Review will celebrate its five-year anniversary with a deluxe, double edition in the winter of 2014.

Hillary Gravendyk, photo from UC Berkeley English

Hillary Gravendyk (1979–2014) was an Assistant Professor of English at Pomona College in Claremont, CA and a native of Washington State. Her poetry has appeared in journals such as American Letters & Commentary, The Bellingham Review, The Colorado Review, The Eleventh Muse, Fourteen Hills, MARY, 1913: A Journal of Forms, Octopus Magazine, Tarpaulin Sky and most recently, Sugar House Review. Her chapbook, The Naturalist, was published by Achiote Press in 2008; and her full-length collection, Harm, came out from Omnidawn in 2012. She leaves behind many devoted colleagues, friends, family, and beautiful poems. 

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses anthology series, named among the most influential projects in the history of American publishing by Publishers Weekly, is the most honored literary project in America. Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry, and essays have been represented in its annual collections. Each year, most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series. The Pushcart Prize has been a labor of love and independent spirits since its founding. Its legacy is assured by donations to its Fellowships endowment.

Sugar House Review would like to offer immense gratitude to Benjamin Burrill, Gravendyk’s surviving spouse. Without Benjamin’s support, inclusion in the Pushcart Prize Anthology would not be possible.

If you would like more information about any of the information contained herein, please contact Nathaniel Taggart: editors@sugarhousereview.com.