Maryam HandMaryam Hand is a spiritual seeker, poet, and mother of four grown children. She was awarded Semi-Finalist in the 2015 Finishing Line Press, "New Women's Voices Series Chapbook Competition," for her latest poetry collection entitled, "Piercing the Vei." Maryam's first manuscript, "The Garden in the Fire: A Spiritual Journey through Poetry," was published in 2013 as a Ph.D. dissertation by Rym Bettaieb, Ph.D., entitled, "Maryam Hand's Poetry in Relation to Sufi Teachings and to the Tradition of Sufi Authorship." Her poem, "My Complicated Father," earned second place in the "Women Who Write," 2007 International Poetry Contest and was subsequently published in their Anthology, Calliope. Several of Maryam's poems have appeared in Moon Journal. During her years spent in Kentucky, she was awarded several Artist Residencies at Hopscotch House in Louisville. Maryam moved to rural Pennsylvania in 2009 both to enjoy and support a growing community of spiritually like-minded people. Here she met and married her beloved husband. In addition to writing, "Piercing the Veil," she has managed and emceed several heart centered music/poetry festivals for her community and organizes spiritual music/poetry coffeehouses both locally and in various parts of the country. Read More Read Less