Education
Ph.D. Storytelling/ Arts in Education, New York University, 1991
M.F.A. Creative Writing/Poetry, University of Iowa, 1978
Biography
After my M.F.A. in creative writing/poetry from the University of Iowa, I continued to pursue my interest in arts in education and received a Ph.D. in Storytelling from New York University.
An arts in education advocate,I taught at Lesley University, Creative Arts in Learning Division (Poetry Writing, Storytelling, Integrated Arts Project), and was a poet / storyteller in the schools in DE PA, NJ, and CA for many years. After experiencing a serious illness myself, I began to help others tell their stories in assisted living and retirement centers.
I am interested in the creative process, the role of imagination in learning, and literacy and the arts. At the University of Delaware I co-directed The Stories Project in which college students worked with at-risk children on literacy, storytelling, and storymaking. Working in children's literature allows me to share my love of folklore, storytelling, poetry, and service-learning.
Author of My Father & Miro and other Poems (Bright Hill Press) and Uncertain Earth (Finishing Line Press). I have received awards for my poems from International Quarterly and Lilith Magazine. Poems have appeared in numerous literary journals.I am an east coast transplant, and have a passion for helping other people tell their stories. My emphasis in on process, empowerment, and helping you discover the story you didn't know you needed to tell.
My newest manuscript is a poetic memoir, The Body Narrative; Seeking Balance in a Dizzying World, a manuscript at the intersection of healing, medicine, and poetry.
Representative Courses Taught
- ENGL 212 Introduction to Children's Literature
- ENGL 475 Language in Social Context
- ENGL 462 Poetry Workshop
Scholarship
Keywords
Creativity, Service-Learning,Multicultural Children's Literature, Modern and Contemporary Poetry, creativity for educators, poetry inquiry