About Me:
THE BIO:
I'm a native of Omaha, Nebraska, and a South Dakota transplant. My poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. I'm the author of three books of poetry, Finger Bones & Other Relics (Three Graces Press, 2008) The Sea is My Ugly Twin (Finishing Line Press 2018), and The Book of Crooked Prayer (Finishing Line Press 2020). A new book, Hysterian, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2024.
I strongly believe in writers and writing as an essential part of COMMUNITY. I taught composition, literature, and creative writing at the University of South Dakota for over two decades. I continue to teach writerly online and community ed classes in creative writing, journaling, haiku, dream journaling, an introduction to the Magdalene Laundries of Ireland, and more.
My husband and I live in a multi-species home in southeastern South Dakota, where we can watch turkey vultures circle overhead and hear coyotes sing along the Missouri River.
HONORS & PRIZES
"Timber," Second Place, Portrait Category, South Dakota State Poetry Society Annual Contest
"Caught," First Prize, Ó Bhéal (Cork Ireland) Five Word International Poetry Competition, Judge Maurice Riordan
The Book of Crooked Prayer, Honorable Mention, Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition, National
Organization of State Poetry Societies
"Evolution," First Place Poetry, Switchgrass Review, Judge Odilia Galván Rodríguez
"Letter to My Father," Finalist, Nancy Hargrove Editor’s Prize
"St. Joan of Arc" (first published as "Maid of Fire"), Runner Up, Rita Dove Poetry Award, judge Molly Peacock