I was an average student, a reluctant reader and had no patience for Algebra.  After receiving a journal for my 12th birthday, I started writing.  In high school I had a fabulous teacher who introduced me to the magic of metaphor.  I began to write poetry and learned to trust my voice.  In College I took poetry writing workshops and wrote articles for a small independent newspaper.  I graduated from UMass, Boston with a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and English Literature and a Minor in Creative Writing.  Then I received a scholarship for my MFA in Poetry from Vermont College.

While in college I had the opportunity to teach a Poetry Correspondence Course to maximum security prisoners.  Each month I sent the students a packet of photocopied poems, essays and writing assignments to try.  Even though many were reading and writing at a 6th grade level or lower, they wanted to write their stories.  They just needed the tools to do it.  I helped them learn the basic skills they needed to express themselves and they helped me to see that I had knowledge worth sharing. 

My poems have appeared in The Café Review, Hunger Mountain, Lullwater Review, Soundings East, Sierra Nevada Review, Calyx, Pearl, Zone3, Euphony, Portland Review, River Oak Review, The Healing Muse and The Aurorean.  My work was awarded 2nd place in the Zone3 Poetry Prize and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  I’ve given reading and offered workshops in Massachusetts, Vermont and Pennsylvania.  Currently, I’m the Executive Director of the Tunkhannock Public Library.