Scranton Alumnus Publishes Award-Winning Debut Book

By Marcus Smith '27, Student Correspondent

Aleksander Zywicki ’10 was selected by Kevin Prufer, the Texas State Poet Laureate, as the winner of the 2024 Barrow Street Poetry Book prize for his debut collection “ZOUNDS!”

The Scranton alum attributed his recent publishing success largely to his professors at The University of Scranton, who he said gave him a real sense of what it means to be a poet.

“ZOUNDS!” is a deeply personal work for Zywicki, who wrote the book as a way of processing grief and his personal struggles with religious faith.

“In so many ways, this is a book about devotion and in the absence of traditional faith, finding those things in life that are still worthy of that,” Zywicki said.

The title itself refers to those themes of faith, he explained.

“The word ‘zounds’ is an early modern contraction of the words ‘Christ’s’ and ‘wounds.’ It is very literally designed to evoke the crucifixion wounds of Christ," Zywicki said.

The book’s collection of poems is divided into four parts, each of which represents a section of Zywicki’s life, starting with the loss of his father as a child and culminating in his own experience of becoming a father.

Not only is the publication of “ZOUNDS!” a major step forward for Zywicki’s poetry career, he describes its selection by Prufer as an emotional milestone, as well.

“It was the most thrilling and exhilarating thing that’s ever happened to me. To have my work picked by this judge was so special because I admire both him and his work tremendously,” Zywicki explained.

For Zywicki, the University’s Department of English was where he really came into his own as a poet.

“Scranton really taught me what the writing life had available, and I have remained hooked ever since,” he said.

Later this month, Zywicki will have a public reading to celebrate his publication at Little City Books in Hoboken, New Jersey.

“ZOUNDS!” is currently available for preorder on the Barrow Street Press website.