Heather Treseler, professor of English at Worcester State University, has won the prestigious Pushcart Prize for her poem “Purpura.” The Pushcart Prize is a coveted literary award that honors the best poetry, short fiction, and essays published by small presses.
Treseler was notified of her Pushcart Prize win while picking up a pizza at her local pizza shop. She was surprised and overjoyed by the news, calling it “a great honor.” The work of Pushcart Prize winners is published in a highly anticipated anthology each fall. There often are as many as 11,000 nominations, and 60 works are chosen each year.
“The Pushcart Prize was established in 1976 by a group of writers who wanted to make sure that contemporary talent was being recognized,” Treseler said. “I’ve been reading the Pushcart anthology since I was a teenager, and I’m thrilled to now be included in the 50th anniversary edition.”
Her award-winning poem “Purpura” delves into her family history, exploring her close relationship with her mother and the medical crisis her mother faced when Treseler was a teenager. The poem has been praised for its poignant exploration of this formative experience.
The poem reflects on the dissonance Treseler felt between her mother’s grave illness suddenly occurring on a beautiful spring day as she was going to school, and how she struggled to make sense of those two realities coexisting. This was a fraught time for Treseler, who, as the eldest child, tried to help her father care for her three younger siblings while her mother was undergoing treatment.
In addition to her Pushcart Prize win, Treseler’s debut poetry book Auguries and Divinations, in which “Purpura” appears, has been longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award. The award honors the best books published by Massachusetts authors each year. Treseler’s book was selected as one of the 12 finalists in the poetry category, a significant accomplishment for her first full-length work. Winners will be announced in the fall.
Auguries and Divinations also won the May Sarton Poetry Prize and the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Award, among many awards Treseler’s work has garnered. She expressed gratitude for the recognition her writing has received, saying it provides encouragement as she works on her next full-length poetry manuscript during her current sabbatical.
Receiving the Pushcart Prize, Treseler said, is “incredibly encouraging as I work to shape a new manuscript, a process that can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. The recognition from the prize provides a nice boost of confidence while working on something new.”
Treseler will be among invited honorees at a celebration of the Massachusetts Book Awards, presented by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, at the State House this fall. The event will feature award winners, honors, and longlisted authors. Judges, legislators, fellow authors, and members of the Commonwealth’s reading community, including publishers, arts and cultural organizations, librarians, and bookstore owners also will be invited.
Photo credit: Rick Bern
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