About
Mamu and me (in the yellow sweater) at the 2022 scrimmage. Photo courtesy of the Bucks' app.
Basketball is my current obsession. Specifically, the Milwaukee Bucks. I've been researching and writing poems about basketball -- the players, the leadership, even the water girl -- and my experiences with it. I dedicated the collection, tentatively titled 48 Minutes of Bliss, of Chaos to the Milwaukee Bucks. My heroes.
Here's the resume stuff. After earning a degree in English (and communication with a minor in journalism), the few poems I slipped into my journalistic portfolio actually nabbed me my first professional writing job -- as a scriptwriter. After a long career as a journalist, public relations executive, educator, small business owner, community builder and a small-time developer, I rededicated myself to poetry. Nearly 60 of my poems have been published in a variety of literary journals including: Blast Furnace, NPR’s Tell Me More blog, Sheltering with Poems, Poised In Flight: An Anthology, Lantern Journal, The New Poet, Midwest Quarterly, Midwest Prairie Review, Reed, Xanadu and Verse Wisconsin. I've read my poems in New York, Australia and Wisconsin. Awards include the following:
* A collection of five poems won Honorable Mention with the Council of Wisconsin Writers' 2022 Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award.
* "My First Orgasm" won second place in the 2021 Wisconsin Fellowship of Poetry Triad Contest.
* "On Shawano Lake," won first prize at the Writers' Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
* "American Mother" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
* "Barkeep's Morning" received an honorable mention from the Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contest.
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee in the same apartment complex as Elvis. Yes, that Elvis. I grew up in Appleton and Kaukauna, Wisconsin and attended undergrad and grad schools in Milwaukee. After living in New York City and Kansas City, I settled in Milwaukee more than 30 years ago where I write full-time, read as much as I can, plan travel adventures and obsess over Wisconsin sports.
Here's the resume stuff. After earning a degree in English (and communication with a minor in journalism), the few poems I slipped into my journalistic portfolio actually nabbed me my first professional writing job -- as a scriptwriter. After a long career as a journalist, public relations executive, educator, small business owner, community builder and a small-time developer, I rededicated myself to poetry. Nearly 60 of my poems have been published in a variety of literary journals including: Blast Furnace, NPR’s Tell Me More blog, Sheltering with Poems, Poised In Flight: An Anthology, Lantern Journal, The New Poet, Midwest Quarterly, Midwest Prairie Review, Reed, Xanadu and Verse Wisconsin. I've read my poems in New York, Australia and Wisconsin. Awards include the following:
* A collection of five poems won Honorable Mention with the Council of Wisconsin Writers' 2022 Lorine Niedecker Poetry Award.
* "My First Orgasm" won second place in the 2021 Wisconsin Fellowship of Poetry Triad Contest.
* "On Shawano Lake," won first prize at the Writers' Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
* "American Mother" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
* "Barkeep's Morning" received an honorable mention from the Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contest.
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee in the same apartment complex as Elvis. Yes, that Elvis. I grew up in Appleton and Kaukauna, Wisconsin and attended undergrad and grad schools in Milwaukee. After living in New York City and Kansas City, I settled in Milwaukee more than 30 years ago where I write full-time, read as much as I can, plan travel adventures and obsess over Wisconsin sports.
A Kaukauna High School yearbook photo (1973 I think) of our inaugural JV girls' basketball team. Me: Middle row far right.
Toddler me in Memphis, Tennessee. Is that a basketball I'm holding? Just sayin'.