I am shocked and so sorry to hear this news. Her voice will be missed by many.

Martin

I too am very shocked and saddened. Had she been ill? And it is more shocking and sad to think that we might have gone another seven weeks--or seven months--and not known about it. The strangeness of the internet. Her talent and poise will be missed.

Keats comes to mind:

The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

Such sad news. I do hope a collection of her work will one day be published.

Oh, Alicia - that's perfect. Now I have tears. I didn't know her apart from references made by others here. And, like Janice, from that terrific sonnet from last Bake-off. But I am thoroughly enjoying the poetry being posted here, which seems to me to speak of a highly productive and deeply felt life. Does anyone know her age?

I do hope someone manages to keep her poems together. I'd like to hold them in my hand.

A lovely spirit and a lovely mind.
I believe she was a consultant psychiatrist before she retired.
I think she had been in ill health for some time (it's in one or two of her poems, if you look hard).
She was reclusive, I think because she did not want to burden her friends and neighbours, and thought herself of small account. I did manage to find her a year or so back.
I'll post more information about her if I can get any, and perhaps others will do the same, as her work should be in context.
God bless, Maz.

I feel so sad about this. As well as enjoying her work both here and at Sonnet Central, Maz encouraged me when I first started writing again and published a number of my early attempts in Worm.

As David said, she was a private and unassuming person and I had not heard from her since exchanging emails round the time of the sonnet bake-off last year - though I did get a Christmas card from her. I sensed all was not well - I do hope we can gather as much of her work together as possible - this is terrible news indeed.

Alan

The last post on the thread at the poets.org site linked by ME Hope is Sept. 6, 2009. Today is the one-year anniversary.

Maz never answered the questions concerning voice and how she would "define her poetic voice." Smart woman. She never even went back to say Word One after that! Funny.

I had an impression from emails, a few years ago, that Maz had lost someone very close to her. I don't know whether it was a parent or a companion. I didn't ask because I knew that she would tell me if she wanted to. Soon after that she told me that she was unable to keep food down and that she was desperate to find something she could eat without terrible after effects. I knew that all was not well.

I mention my suspicions about her personal loss because if I am correct that might have been the person who would have known about her poems. We might have to do it all ourselves.

PS: So here is the archive of Worm.
http://www.poetryworm.com/

About six months ago Maz posted a poem at the Gazebo. It was the last poem I saw her post and it was just before the Gazebo crashed. I'm pretty sure the poem was called "Lilah". It was one of her "story poems" -- that's how I thought of them.
Lilah was living in a tent, I think. It was in an earlier time period. There was an oil lamp in the tent, I think, and Lilah's basket in the corner. There was something in the basket; Lilah had been out gathering or cutting herbs, I think. I believe there were scissors in the basket, though it might have been a knife. I remeber Lilah picked up the scissors and suddenly cut off all her long, hair, so she had no hair left at all. Then she went outdoors -- I picture it as night -- and she cast the hair into the fire. Then Lilah went back into the tent and picked up a polished bowl. She could see her reflection in the bowl. She could see her small head, almost skull-like -- that was how the poem ended, more or less those words. Though I don't have the poem, so I can't remember exactly.
It was a wonderful poem, which I told Maz in my critique. And because of the name "Lilah", I thought it might be Delilah. Who might have cut off her own hair after having cut Samson's -- like a continuation of the story. Maz somethimes wove stories around characters from literature, history.
I was hoping she might tell me when she replied to the critiquers, but she didn't come back, and about two weeks later the entire Gazebo crashed and disappeared.

Petra, you are giving us very little to go on here. is Maz ok? Please tell us what you know. For many of us she is dear.

Well I have completely fucked up. Sorry I missed everyting above Petra's posting, including Aliki's poem If Maz has died I would like to hear this news from some authoratative someone.