Bio...
"It's acceptance versus will. But acceptance is a decision you take. You accept to go with the wind. You accept to go into the unknown."
Bertrand Piccard after becoming the first balloonist to circumnavigate earth.Taub, Ben. "Close to the Sun." The New Yorker. October 10, 2022.
Bertrand Piccard after becoming the first balloonist to circumnavigate earth.Taub, Ben. "Close to the Sun." The New Yorker. October 10, 2022.
Basketball is my current obsession. I've been researching and writing poems about it -- the players, the leadership, even the water girl. I dedicated the collection, tentatively titled 48 Minutes of Bliss, 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 (I earned a Master's in Adult Education), 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.
When I need a break from writing, I stitch fiber art using words, paper, fabric and other detritus. My work has been exhibited and sold at many regional art galleries.
I grew up in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and attended college and grad school 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 (I earned a Master's in Adult Education), 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.
When I need a break from writing, I stitch fiber art using words, paper, fabric and other detritus. My work has been exhibited and sold at many regional art galleries.
I grew up in Kaukauna, Wisconsin and attended college and grad school 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.