Part myth retelling, part character study, Helen of Troy, 1993 reimagines the Homeric Helen in the hills of small-town Tennessee in the early nineties. In persona poems with settings ranging from Friday night football games to Piggly Wiggly to the bathroom of a Motel 6, Helen comes of age, marries the wrong man, births a child she is not ready to parent, and begins an affair that throws her life—and future—into chaos. (Starred review from Publishers Weekly; New York Times Editors’ Choice)

Helen of Troy, 1993 (Scribner) is now available through Barnes & Noble and indie booksellers.

Maria Zoccola is a poet and educator from Memphis, Tennessee. She has writing degrees from Emory University and Falmouth University, and has spent many years leading creative writing workshops for middle and high school youth. Maria’s work has previously appeared in The Atlantic, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, The Sewanee Review, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere, and has received a special mention for the Pushcart Prize. Helen of Troy, 1993 (Scribner, 2025) is her debut poetry collection.

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