bio...
My studio at Real Tinsel on Milwaukee's south side. It's a former bridal salon rehabbed into five artist studios and a fabulous gallery space. The wall artwork was made by my amazing former studio mates: the mobile by Becca Kacanda and the painting by Rachel Horvath.
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Photo by Rachel Horvath.
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Because I was born in Memphis next to the apartment where Elvis Presley grew up and to a father who sang in as many local choir and theater groups as he could, you'd think I'd be musical. Nope. In fourth grade, I actually failed music class. But I wanted to dance. And write poetry. So maybe rhythm was my inheritance.
Ballet was not in my parents' budget but a toy typewriter was. So I pounded out poem after poem and today am the proud owner of my mom’s beloved portable green-keyed Smith Corona.
After earning a degree in creative writing (and communication with a minor in journalism), the few poems I slipped into my journalistic portfolio are actually what nabbed me my first professional writing job -- as a scriptwriter. After working for many years as a professional writer, educator and then a small business owner, in 2012 I recommitted to poetry. Since that time, more than 50 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. "On Shawano Lake," won first prize at the Writers' Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My poem "American Mother" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. And "Barkeep's Morning" received an honorable mention from the Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contest.
Besides a hobby of singing, my father also sewed. Sofas. Crushed velvet suit coats. My sister's pearl-encrusted wedding dress. So when I need a break from writing, I stitch fiber art using words, paper, fabric and much detritus. I studied surface design at Peters Valley in New Jersey; the Split Rock Arts Program at the University of Minnesota; and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. My work has been exhibited and sold at many regional art galleries.
After living in New York City and Kansas City, I now reside in Milwaukee where I'm working on a couple non-fiction and poetry books and traveling as much as I possibly can.
Ballet was not in my parents' budget but a toy typewriter was. So I pounded out poem after poem and today am the proud owner of my mom’s beloved portable green-keyed Smith Corona.
After earning a degree in creative writing (and communication with a minor in journalism), the few poems I slipped into my journalistic portfolio are actually what nabbed me my first professional writing job -- as a scriptwriter. After working for many years as a professional writer, educator and then a small business owner, in 2012 I recommitted to poetry. Since that time, more than 50 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. "On Shawano Lake," won first prize at the Writers' Institute of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My poem "American Mother" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. And "Barkeep's Morning" received an honorable mention from the Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contest.
Besides a hobby of singing, my father also sewed. Sofas. Crushed velvet suit coats. My sister's pearl-encrusted wedding dress. So when I need a break from writing, I stitch fiber art using words, paper, fabric and much detritus. I studied surface design at Peters Valley in New Jersey; the Split Rock Arts Program at the University of Minnesota; and the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. My work has been exhibited and sold at many regional art galleries.
After living in New York City and Kansas City, I now reside in Milwaukee where I'm working on a couple non-fiction and poetry books and traveling as much as I possibly can.
My first scooter ride ever, in Vietnam.
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Reading in Canberra, Australia to celebrate publication of "Not Very Quiet."
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And my first camel ride, in Morocco.
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