This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly. Award-winning poet and upper school English teacher Alexandra Mattraw Rosenboom recently shared the exciting news that her second poetry book manuscript was a finalist for the prestigious Colorado Review Prize for Poetry. Out of nearly 700 entries, her work placed among the 30 finalists. “I highly respect the publication and press, which has published some of my favorite poets. Some of my university professors had their first poetry books published through this competition, so it was cool to get so close,” said Rosenboom, who this summer will be holding several poetry readings at various locations throughout the Bay Area (see her website at http://alexandramattraw.wordpress.com for details). A third generation Northern Californian, Rosenboom has taught at Harker since 2002. She is a former resident of the Vermont Studio Center and has published several chapbooks. Her poems and reviews have also appeared in many journals, including Seneca Review, Denver Quarterly, VOLT, Word For/Word, Cultural Society, Verse and American Letters & Commentary, among others. Her work has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.