WELCOME TO A WAY WITH WORDS:
READING, WRITING, TEACHING, EDITING

I’ve always been a reader. When I was young, I often escaped household chores because my mother allowed me sit in the big red chair in the living room and read. When I grew up, I taught literature. I’m not sure what prompted me to begin writing creatively. Perhaps it was a desire to tell my children, who were in junior high at the time, about me—if they’d listen. I had to tell a good story; it couldn’t be boring or preachy. I learned to write at my dining room table with loud music and kids doing homework. I read to my dogs, whose ears pricked up—or didn’t. When my children were in college, I edited art and literary magazines and received an MFA in creative writing. For the last seven years, I’ve been teaching at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I also teach a variety of workshops and run short-short story contests for MinnPost, an online newspaper. I’m inspired by the opportunity to help others discover their own way with words.

News: My poetry chapbook, My Memoir Dress, is out! The book can be ordered from amazon.com.