PAOLA CORSO

PAOLA JO (PJ) CORSO is the author of seven books of poetry and fiction  set in her native Pittsburgh area where her Southern Italian immigrant family members were steel workers. Her latest are Vertical Bridges: Poems and Photographs of City Steps, The Laundress Catches Her Breath, winner of The Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing, Once I Was Told the Air Was Not for Breathing, winner of the Triangle Fire Memorial Association Award, and Catina's Haircut: A Novel in Stories. Her new poetry collection, Oxygen for Two completes her Pittsburgh Air Triology and is forthcoming in 2026. As a member of an artist's collective, Corso's photographs have been exhibited in galleries, libraries, and open studios. She cofounded Steppin Stanzas, a grassroots performing arts project to celebrate city steps and also The Ferlinghetti Girls to celebrate Lawrence Ferlinghetti's vision of free speech and poetry for the people. Corso earned graduate degrees in Creative Writing and Community Organizing. She lives and works in New York City. See full Bio.

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