Marilyn J. Baszczynski

Marilyn Baszczynski lives in rural Iowa west of Adel with her husband, Chris, a career scientist and musician, along with their menagerie of pets. She grew up in Ontario, Canada where she earned a Ph.D. in French literature. In addition to writing, Marilyn likes to spend time reading, gardening, teaching, tutoring and with her family.

Writing since childhood and largely inspired by living in the country, Marilyn finds her voice in connecting with the land and all who live there, and weaves these journeys into her poems; they have won awards and been recognized in various NFSPS and Iowa Poetry Association contests. Her poetry has been published in: Abaton, The Aurorean, backchannelsjournal, The Healing Muse, KYSO Flash, Loch Raven Review, Lyrical Iowa, Midwest Poetry Review, Mused, Shot Glass Journal, Slippery Elm, Tipton Poetry Journal and Whistling Shade among others.

In July 2015, her book Gyuri. A Poem of Wartime Hungary, was published by Whistling Shade Publications. This work, based on the experiences of Hungarian refugees as well as her own parents, appears as the first volume in the Geste Series put out by Whistling Shade. In this narrative poem, Marilyn recounts a story of love and heartbreak, hope, loss and failure, set against the maelstrom of World War II.

On May 17, 2024, Finishing Line Press will release Marilyn's latest poetry collection, daughter, while i'm still here. These poems capture a mother's desire to convey what her experiences and learnings have revealed about the fragility of life, relationships and happiness, which she shares in poignant moments of recollection during her final weeks in hospice.

Formerly President of the Iowa Poetry Association, Marilyn currently edits IPA's annual anthology, Lyrical Iowa. She has been an active member of the association since 2000 and webmaster of their website at www.iowapoetry.com. She is also active in the Omega Poetry Group (Urbandale Iowa) and holds membership in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.