Maurya Simon has published ten volumes of poetry, including The Wilderness: New & Selected Poems, 1980-2016, nominated in 2018 for Pulitzer Prize, and her novel-in-verse, The Raindrop’s Gospel: The Trials of St. Jerome & St. Paula. Her sixth volume, Ghost Orchid, was a 2004 National Book Award nominee. Simon has received an NEA in Poetry and awards from the Poetry Society of America and the Academy of American Poets. She has served multiple residencies at the American Academy in Rome and at The MacDowell Colony. Simon’s work has been translated into Farsi, Spanish, and French. She taught literature and creative writing at the University of California, Riverside for nearly thirty years and now serves as a Professor of the Graduate Division and Professor Emerita. Maurya Simon divides her time in California between San Clemente and Mt. Baldy, which is located in the Angeles National Forest of the San Gabriel Mountains.