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About Richard J. Margolis Past Winners
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992 |
| Maggie Dubris |
WillieWorld,
Maggie Dubris’ book-length poem/prose poem was released by Cuz Editions in NYC in 1998. The book was an outgrowth of Ms.
Dubris' ten years of work as an ambulance driver in New York City's Hell's Kitchen. It is a gritty and stunning portrait of the horrors and miracles found in America's abandoned inner cities.
Ms. Dubris received the Margolis Award when WillieWorld seemed unlikely to be published. “Winning the Margolis Award was really an emotional boost for me, someone saying that they believed what I was doing with this poem, that it was important enough to recognize and give an award to. Receiving this award helped me to stay committed to trying to get the poem published as a book.”
Ms. Dubris is also a songwriter and guitarist for the all female band Homer Erotic which recently released an impressive CD, Homerica the Beautiful on Bobby Previte's Depth of Field Record.
Ms. Dubris continues to write and drive an ambulance through the wastelands of what she calls "the holiest city on earth." She returned to Blue Mountain Center in 1998 to complete her novel Skels , about a medic and a homeless man in New York City. Her novel continues where WillieWorld left off, filling out her story with a wider vision, one that includes a large dose of the humor necessary to survive in America's troubled cities.
Living in the East Village is always an adventure, as she reports, ”It's noisy and there are thousands of homeless people, garbage piled up all over, sirens, motorcycles and screaming fights day and night. Plus the landlord is always hiring complete madmen and crack addicts to do repairs on the building which is falling down around us and keeps bursting into flame. But they do sell great coffee at the Egyptian Deli downstairs.”