Publishing Poetry & Prose Across Contemporary Literary Spaces

Posted March 12, 2024December 31, 2025 in Alumni, Creative Writing

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Writing that feels intimate without becoming insular takes discipline. It requires control over voice, pacing, and presence on the page – qualities that define the work of Juliet Gelfman-Randazzo, an alumna of the MFA in Creative Writing program at Rutgers University–Camden.

She is the author of the chapbook DUH, which critic Sophie Anderson describes as strikingly intimate and precise: “Gelfman-Randazzo reads in the way every poet probably thinks they read: making everyone feel as if they’re the only one in the room. It’s a balancing act in pause: long enough between each line break to feel intimate, but not long enough to feel awkward.”

Recognition Through Awards & Residencies

Gelfman-Randazzo’s work has been recognized across poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. She was a finalist for the Nine Syllables Press Chapbook Contest, AWP’s 2022 Kurt Brown Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and the International Literary Seminar’s Fiction Contest in both 2022 and 2023. Her poetry was also named a semifinalist for the 2022 Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize and Tilted House’s inaugural Chapbook Prize.

Her development as a writer has been supported through multiple artistic residencies, including annual stays at Art Farm and a residency at Soaring Gardens, where time and space for sustained creative work continue to shape her practice.

Writing Across Genres & Publications

Gelfman-Randazzo’s writing moves fluidly across genres, reflecting a literary practice that resists strict categorization. Her work is forthcoming in Joyland and The Cleveland Review of Books, with previous pieces appearing in The Offing and Barrelhouse Magazine.

In poems such as “the prophet” and “i’m bicoastal,” her writing demonstrates a careful balance of emotional range and formal control, inviting readers into moments that feel both immediate and deliberate.

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Ongoing Work in Literary Community and Craft

Based in Philadelphia, Gelfman-Randazzo remains actively engaged in the literary community. She produces Spit Poetry, an open mic series she helped establish, creating space for emerging and established writers to share work in a live setting. She also brings her editorial perspective to Barrelhouse Magazine, contributing to the publication’s ongoing work.

Continuing to invest in her development as a writer, she is set to participate as a Creative Nonfiction scholar at the Tin House Summer Workshop in July 2024.