About the author

I was born in Mexico, the daughter of a Kentucky farm-girl and a Texas large-animal veterinarian. I graduated from Tulane University, then earned an MFA and PhD from Louisiana State University, but it was really my years of wayfaring across twenty countries and four continents that led me to my novels, The Night Field, The Braided Path, and Dreamers. The Night Field, specifically,  was inspired by studying pesticide issues among heroic cotton farmers in India on a Fulbright in 2008. I’ve worked as turnabout crew on a schooner, librarian, environmental activist, registered nurse, educator, editor and creative coach, but  these days I mostly walk in the woods, write, and lead dream groups from my little cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, waiting for Mystery to tap me on the shoulder, forever drunk on the isoprene exhalations of the trees. 

Writer’s Statement

From Donna Glee Williams

Some writers plan their stories.  Some people plan their lives.

That just mystifies me.  I would so loose my motivation if all I were doing was following a plan.  (Sounds a lot like work, frankly.)

But if you have absolutely no clue what happens next, if you show up for the unexpected with your pen in hand and your ear tuned to the Wisdom beyond your conscious mind… Well, there’s your motivation for you, built right into your writing practice, your dream practice, your Life: Suspense. How is this thing going to turn out? Who is going to turn up? What will they want?  What will they offer?  

“Take me; use me,” Julia Butterfly Hill once said to the ancient redwood she protected with her 738-day tree-sitting vigil.  I say the same prayer to the Mystery, the Divine, the Collective Unconscious, the Muse. Whatever nom du jour you care to give It,  opening to It is the most exciting game in town.  And that’s true whether I’m writing or helping others to find their voice or read the meaning or their night-dreams.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a healthy respect for the disciplines of honing your craft skills. Fortuna eruditis favet. I can’t MAKE the creative lightning strike, but if it does, it will find me with my tools sharpened, warmed up, and ready to go—after spending years studying language with Professor Frank Parker at LSU, voice and story with Patricia Lee Gauch, the innards of the human psyche with Patricia Dunbar, and the working of dreams with Jeremy Taylor.  Oh, and writing poetry; poetry runs a strict classroom, but it will teach you a thing or two about getting emotion onto the written page.

Writers like me don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about our audience while we are writing; our gig is to show up, ready to take dictation from the Great Whatever.  It’s only later that our thoughts turn to our readers, hoping—praying—that we’ve done our work well enough that Whatever spoke to us will speak to you, also, and you will hear what It needed you to hear.  My mentor Jeremy Taylor used to say, over and over again, that all dreams come in the service of healing and wholeness.  With that in mind, welcome to my dreams, to my words, to my worlds…

DONNA GLEE WILLIAMS


Contact

P.O. Box 68
Balsam, North Carolina, USA 28707
williadg2@gmail.com
DonnaGleeWilliams.com

Education

PhD
Dissertation Title—The Linguistic Basics of Literary Implicitness: Entailment, Presupposition, and Implicature in the Work of Ernest Hemingway and Tim O’Brien
Louisiana State University, English Department
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

MFA
Louisiana State University, English Department
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

RN
Charity Hospital School of Nursing
New Orleans, Louisiana

BA
Newcomb College of Tulane University
Spanish Department
New Orleans, Louisiana

Honors & Residencies

  • Member, Science Fiction Writers of America.

  • Pushcart Prize nomination for “Historia Calamitatum Mearum,” 2020.

  • Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Garner Dozois (2008) for “Limits.”

  • Artist in Residence Breachach Castle (Scotland), 2023; The Poetry Garret (Paris), 2022; Arteles (Finland), 2019; Stiwdio Maelor (Wales), 2019; Jentel (Wyoming), 2018; Zvona i Nari (Croatia), 2017; Messen (Norway), 2014 and 2018.

  • Finalist, SCI-FEST LA, 2015 (including staged reading of my story “Saving Seeds” in Hollywood.)

  • Fulbright Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow (India), 2008.

  • Hambidge Fellow (North Carolina), 2004-2006.

  • Appointed by Governor to North Carolina Council on the Holocaust, 2002.

Publications

Novels

  • The Braided Path. Calgary, Canada: Edge, 2014.

  • Dreamers. Calgary, Canada: Edge, 2016.

  • The Night Field. Jo Fletcher, 2023.

Short Fiction

  • “Absence Makes the Heart.” Online publication in MindFlights Science Fiction and Fantasy.

    http://mindflights.com/index.html and later anthologized in Fantasy for the Throne, edited by

    Judith K. Dial and Tom Eason. New York: Fantastic Books, 2018.

  • “Apostle of the Rope.” Mission Journal 13 (March 1980): 9-10.

  • “Come and Get It.” Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought 5 52(2009): 382-384.

  • “Dancing.” Podcast on PseudoPod 293 (August 14, 2012.)

  • “Dictation to a Big-Eared God.” The Main Street Rag 23 (Fall 2018): 31-37.

  • “Historia Calamitatum Mearum.” Sundial Magazine 2020. https://sites.google.com/view/sundial-

    magazine/short-stories/historia-calamitatum-mearum

  • “How Binaya Changed.” Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought

    54 (2011):94-100

  • “Limits.” Online publication in Strange Horizons (July 23, 2007.) www.strangehorizons.com/fiction/limits

    Reissued in audio format: PodCastle 189. December 27, 2011. podcastle.org/2011/12/27/podcastle-189-limits/

  • “One of God’s Little Jokes.” Crescent (April 1988): 9-10.

  • “Persephone Sets It Straight.” The Beltane Papers 28 (Autumn 2002): 10-11.

  • “Princess Mee.” The Beltane Papers 32 (Spring 2004): 4-5.

  • “Reflections.” Psychological Perspectives, forthcoming in 2023.

  • “Remains.” Asylum 6 (Sept. 1990): 29.

  • “The Circle Harp.” Serial publication in WNC Woman 7 (no. 11, November 2008): 40-46 and (no.

    12, December 2008): 24-25. Reprinted in Psychological Perspectives 5 52(2009): 372-381.

    Reissued in audio for mat: PodCastle 219. August 1, 2012. podcastle.org/2012/08/01/podcastle-219-the-circle-harp/

  • “The Loon that Couldn’t Dive.” Psychological Perspectives 42 (2001): 124-126. Reprinted in The Beltane Papers 31 (Winter 2003):7, 17.

  • “Woman on the Rock.” New Delta Review 7 (Spring/Summer 1990): 3-5.

  • “Working Man.” Changing Men 23 (Fall/Winter 1991): 14-15.

Poetry

  • “406 C.E.” Witness: Appalachia to Hatteras (2018): 17.

  • “Body.” Body Stories: Research & Intimate Narratives on Women Transforming Body Image in Outdoor Adventure, edited by Lisa West-Smith. Edgewood, KY: Adventurehaven (2000): 113.

  • “Cat People.”  New Orleans Times-Picayune 12 June 1994: E9, and also in The Maple Leaf Rag. Page 184.  New Orleans:  Portals Press, 1994.

  • “Dating Outside the Faith.”  Writing from the Inside Out (2007): 18.

  • “Dieting In Hades.”  The Beltane Papers 28 (Autumn 2002): 39.

  • “Egg.” Witness: Appalachia to Hatteras (2018): 19.

  • “Evolution.” Star*line (Summer 2022): 16.

  • “For Steve and the Seventeen-Year-Old Girl.”  Bellingham Review 11 (Fall 1988): 28.

  • “GodParents.”  Mesechabe 1 (Fall 1988): 13.

  • “Head Spinning.”  The Maple Leaf Rag.  Page 184.  New Orleans: Portals Press, 1994.

  • “I Know My Soul Is Wood.”  The Fly 4 (1983): 8.

  • “In Honor of Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828).”  Bellingham Review 11 (Fall 1988): 29.

  • “Night Porch.”  Inch 11 (2009.)

  • “Perdido.” Witness: Appalachia to Hatteras (2018):18.

  • “Pre-Op Instructions.”  Star*Line (January-March 2012):12.

  • “Query.” Light: A Journal of Photography and Poetry (Fall 2018): 9.

  • “Shapes and Changes.”  Bellingham Review 11 (Spring 1988): 54-55.

  • “She Hears Voices In Her Mother’s Kitchen.”  The Beltane Papers 31 (Winter 10,003): inside front cover.

  • “Smashing the Idol.”  Friends Journal 42 (August 1996): 15.

  • “The Garden of the Elephant.”  Psychological Perspectives 55 (issue 1, 2012): 129-130.

  • “The Rescue.”  New Orleans Review 20 (Spring/Summer 1994): 122.

  • “The Devil and Miss Mary.”  Mesechabe 7 (undated): 23.

  • “We are the three Marys.”  New Laurel Review 15 (Spring/Fall 1987): 34-35.

  • “What the Matter Is.”  New Delta Review 7 (no.1—undated): 39.

  • “What’s Left After Burning.”  The Beltane Papers 30 (Summer 2003): 27.

  • “Second Puberty.”  The Beltane Papers 34 (Winter 2004/5): 13.

  • “Prayer Query.”  Friends Journal 53 (April 2007):8.

Other Forms

  • “Chanson Pour Deux Amix.”  (song lyric)  Recorded on Live!  At the Penny Post by Richard Blackmon, who also wrote the music.

  • “Gypsy Saturday.”  (rhymed children’s story)  Multiple performances by Possible Players theater company and broadcast on WTUL Radio children’s program, New Orleans, 1988.

  • “The Litany of Remembrance.” (poetic ritual)  Mesechabe 2 (Winter 1988-1989): 21.  Also performed as part of the Louisiana Toxics March by Professor Dan Moore.

  • “The Remembering of Ponchartrain.”  (dramatic ritual)  Multiple performances and broadcast on WWOZ Radio acoustic music program, New Orleans, 1986.

  • We Will Be Witches!  (theatrical review)  With Steve Brooks.  Performed at Borsodi’s Coffeehouse, September 25-26, New Orleans, 1987.

  • Multiple live poetry readings at Jubilee! Community, Asheville, NC.

Articles

  • “Ambiguity in the Poetry of Yeats.”  Forthcoming in Language and Style.

  • “Bela Fleck and Pat Flory: A Lot of Water Under the Bridge.” Bluegrass Unlimited 27(Aug. 1992): 28-34.

  • “Hot Flashes as Dream Symbols.” The Beltane Papers 28 (Autumn 2002): 17-18, and re-issued in Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought, 2023.

  • “In the Time of Apples.”   Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought  55( 2012): 482-485

  • “Matthew Fox’s Four Vias in Holocaust Education for Teachers: An Integrated Curriculum of the Spirit.”  Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 14 (no. 1, Spring 2001): 17-23.

  • “See No Evil.”  Friends Journal 50 (no. 1, January 2004): 10-11.

  • “Teaching in the Resistance: Working with Conservative Audiences.” The Association for Experiential Education Horizon (Summer 2002): 9, 15, 17-18.

  • “Teaching VS Terrorism: To Pakistan, From North Carolina, With Love.”  WNC Woman 7(no. 10, October 2008): 21, 27-29.

  • “The Reconciliation of a Stylistic Dilemma: Hemingway’s Use of Conversational Implicature.”  Language and Style 24 (Summer 1991): 351-363.

  • “The Linguistic Basis for ‘Showing’: Entailment, Presupposition, and Implicature.” Language and Literature 22 (1997): 103-117.

  • “The Masks of Mentor.”  Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 12 (no.4, Winter 1999-2000): 28-35.

  • “The Moons of Ursula LeGuin and Robert Heinlein.”  Science Fiction Studies 21, part 2 (July 1994): 164-172.

  • “The Presentation of Linguistic Variation in Autobiographical Writing.”  A/B: Auto/biography Studies 7 (Spring 1992): 27-45.

  • “The Sounds of Righteous Anger.”  In “To Have the Land Restored: Chronicles of the Toxics March.”  Mesechabe 2 (Winter 1998-1989): 16-18.

  • “Transactional Analysis of the Creative Process in the Classroom.” Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice 25 (no.3, Autumn 2012.)

  • “Why I Am Not Pretty.”  The Beltane Papers 33 (Summer 2004) 9-12.)

Book Reviews

  • Rev. of The Believers:  A Novel of Shaker Life, by Janice Holt Gilbert.  Southern Folklore 47 (1990): 270-271.

  • “Doing What Comes Naturally.”  Rev. of Immaculate Deception II: A Fresh Look at Childbirth, by Suzanne Arms.  Women’s Review of Books 12 (December 1994): 27-28.

  • “Demythologizing Joseph Campbell.”  Rev. of Joseph Campbell: An Introduction, by Robert Segal.  New Orleans Times-Picayune 24 June 1990: E8.

  • Rev. of “The Woman’s Belly Book: Finding Your Treasure Within” and “Honoring Your Belly” (video), by Lisa Sarasohn.  The Beltane Papers 32 (Spring, 2004) 61-62.

  • “How Motherwit Came Into the World.”  Rev. of Motherwit, by Onnie Lee Logan, as told to Katherine Clark.  New Orleans Times-Picayune 12 Nov. 1989: F13.

  • Rev. of Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer.  Mesechabe 4/5 (1989): 5-8.

  • Rev. of The Bone House: A Bright Empires Novel, by Stephen R. Lawhead.  New Myths.  http://www.newmyths.com/

  • “Labor Histories.”  Rev. of Birth Stories: Mystery, Power, and Creation, by Jane Dwinell.

  • Woman’s Review of Books 10 (May 1993): 15.

  • Rev. of The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, by William Walker.  Southern Folklore 47 (1990): 89.

  • Rev. of Writing for Academic Publication: A Guide for Getting Started. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 26 (1996): 346-347.

Reference Articles

  • “‘Civil Disobedience.’” Issues and Identities in Literature.  P. 225.  Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.

  • “‘Going After Cacciato.’”  Masterplots II:  Short Story Supplement.  Pp. 3295.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1996.

  • “Immaculate Deception: A New Look at Women and Childbirth in America.”  Masterplots II: Women’s Literature.  Pp. 1139-1143.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1995.

  • “Keller, Helen Adams.”  Great Lives from History: American Women.  Pp. 1015-1018. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1995.

  • “Pornography and Silence: Culture’s Revenge Against Nature.”  Issues and Identities in Literature.  P. 769.  Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.

  • “Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility.” Masterplots II:  Women’s Literature.  Pp. 2055-2059.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1995.

  • “Tucker, Sophie.”  Great Lives from History: American Women.  Pp. 1783-1786.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1995.

  • “Wakoski, Diane.”  American Women Writers.  Volume 5, Supplement.  Pp. 470-471.  Boston:  Crossroads/Continuum, 1993.

  • “Walden.”  Issues and Identities in Literature.  P. 963.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press.

  • “Women and Madness.”  Masterplots II:  Women’s Literature.  Pp. 2527-2531.  Pasadena, CA:  Salem Press, 1995.

Conference Presentations

  • “Hemingway’s Use of Conversational Implicature:  The Reconciliation of a Stylistic Dilemma.” Presented at the Texas A&M University Conference on Language and Literature, 1 April 1989.

  • “Holocaust Education in Context of a Teacher Renewal Center.” Presented at the 29th Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, 7 March 1999, in Uniondale, NY.

  • “Judith Shakespeare Lived:  Non-Fictional Analogs of Virginia Woolf’s Fictional Character.” Presented at the College English Association Conference, 7-9 April 1994, in Orlando, Florida.

  • “Judith Shakespeare: Textual Fiction/Contextual Fact.”  Presented at the Fifth Annual Virginia Woolf Conference, 15-18 June 1995, in Westerville, Ohio.

  • “Nurturing the Nurturer.”  (Full-day professional development workshops.)  Presented at the Northwest Regional Educational Service Alliance in Wilkesboro, NC.  20 March 2002 and 20 March 2003.

  • “Renewing Teachers’ Commitment to Education Through Professional Development.”  Co-presented with Dr. Renée Coward at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Annual Conference, Saturday 20 March 2004, New Orleans, LA.

  • “The Physiology of Renewal.”  (Keynote address.)  Presented at “Laughter: The Fountain of Renewal” NCCAT Alumni Reunion 8 March 2003, in Atlantic Beach, NC.

  • “Retreat To Advance: The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.”  Co-presented with Drs. Mary McDuffie and Renée Coward at the National Staff Development Council Annual Conference, 8-10 December 2003, New Orleans, LA.

  • “Science Teachers’ Renewal: Keeping Our Lamps Burning at NCCAT.”  Presented at the 29th Annual Conference of the North Carolina Science Teachers Association, 12-14 November 1997, in Greensboro, NC.

  • “Taking Care of Ourselves: Nurturing the Nurturers.”  (Keynote address.)  Presented at the Foreign Languages Association of North Carolina conference, 30 October 1999, in Raleigh, NC.

  • “Teacher Renewal: Keeping Our Lamps Burning at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.”  Presented at the Third Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching-South, 23-25 May 1997, in Athens, GA.

  • “Teaching About the Holocaust and Genocide: Guidelines and Reflections.” Presented at the 2005 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, April 2-4, 2005, in Orlando, FL.

  • “Teaching Teachers About the Holocaust: A Seminar Experience at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.”  Presented at the Third International Conference on Teaching the Holocaust and Genocide, 29 December 1994, in Jerusalem, Israel.

  • “Transactional Analysis of the Creative Process in the Classroom.”  Presented at the Lilly-South Conference on Excellence in College Teaching, 2-4 June 1995, and the Friends Association for Higher Education Conference, 22-25 June 1995.

  • “Understanding Stress.”  Presented at the North Carolina School Counselors Association Fall Conference, 12-14 November 2003, in Winston-Salem, NC.  Also presented as poster session at the Adult Higher Education Alliance Conference 8-11 October 2003, in Asheville, NC.

  • Author Talk and Reading from The Braided Path. Presented at Western Carolina University’s Spring Literary Festival, 31 March – 4 April, 2014, in Cullowhee, NC.

  • “Speculative Poetry Today.” Panelist (online) at the Science Fiction Writers Association Nebula Conference, May 20-22, 2022.

  • “From Pillow to Publication: Bringing the Boon Back to the People.”  Presented online for the International Association for the Study of Dreams Conference, 13-17 June 2021.

  • "Engaging with Your Night-Dreams as Creative Sources." Presented online for Clarion West, 11 July 2022. 

  • “Dreamers Writing; Writers Dreaming.” Week-long dream-group at the International Association for the Study of Dreams Conference, 17-21 July 2022, in Tucson, AZ.

  • “The Protagonist’s Parents.” Panelist at the. World Fantasy Awards Convention. 27 October 2023, in Kansas City, MO.

Dreamwork

 Donna Glee has taught creative writing, dreamwork, and various blends of the two for:

  •  Western Carolina University

  • Clarion West Writers Workshop

  • The North Carolina Arboretum

  • Odyssey Writers Workshops

  • The John C. Campbell Folk School

  • The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching

  • The International Association for the Study of Dreams

Classes & Workshops

  • “The Mountain,” 19-23 September 1994 and 18-22 September 1995.  Co-leader with Burt Kornegay.

  • “Exploring the Mind/Body Split,” 24-28, October 1994.  Co-leader with Dr. Carter Delafield.

  • “Once Upon a Time:  Stories From Our Own Lives,” 31 October-4 November 1994.  Co-leader with David Holt.

  • “The Cherokee People,” 28 November-2 December 1994 and 13-17 May 1996.  Co-leader with Davy Arch.

  • “The Shadow:  Exploring a Human Archetype,” 13-17 February 1995.

  • “The Roots of Country Music,” 13-17 March 1995, 16-18 February 1996, 18-22 March 1996, 24-28 February 1997, 22-26 March 1999 and 19-23 March 2001.  Co-leader with Jack Bernhardt.

  • “Writing for Your Life,” 3-7 April 1995.  Co-leader with Betsy Peterson.

  • “The Exploring Spirit,” 17-22 April 1995.  Co-leader with Burt Kornegay.

  • “Taking Care of Yourself:  Nurturing the Nurturers,” 22-26 May 1995, 7-11 August 1995, 24-28 June 1996, 14-18 July 1997, 13-17 July 1998, 26-30 July 1999,17-21 July 2000, 18-22 September 2000, 6-10 August 2001, 14-18 July 2003. 14-18 July 2008. Co-leader with Jon Glover.

  • “The Silent Sisters,” 23-27 October 1995.  Co-leader with Dr. Mary McCay.

  • “Rhythms in Nature and Culture,” 27 November-1 December 1995.  Co-leader with Beverly Botsford.

  • “Addiction in America,” 16-19 January 1996.  Co-leader with Jon Glover.

  • “The Haven-Finding Arte,” 15-19 April 1996.  Co-leader with Burt Kornegay.

  • “Go With the Flow: The History, Physics, and Practice of Canoeing,” 29 July-2  August 1996. Co-leader with Gordon Black.

  • “The Staff of Life: The Story of Bread,” 7-11 October 1996.  Co-leader with John Slater.

  • “Teaching the Holocaust: Resources and Reflections,” 10-15 November 1996, 2-7 November 1997, 1-6 November 1998, 14-19 November 1999, 5-10 November 2000, 4-9 November 2001, 16-21 November 2003, and 9-14 November 2008.

  • “Fire, Fiber, Stone & Bone: The Ways of the First People,” 9-13 December 1996.  Co leader with Steve Watts.

  • “Writing from Your Roots,” 26-31 January 1997.  Co-leader with Anne Villen.

  • “The Cowboy Life and Legend,” 7-11 April 1997 and 26-30 November 2001.  Co-leader with Rich Slatta.

  • “The Natural Rhythms of the River,” 16-20 June 1997, 8-12 June 1998, 7-11 June 1999 and 11-15 June 2001.

  • “Southern Appalachian Woodslore, Weeds, and Wisdom,” 4-8 August 1997.  Co-leader with Doug Elliott.

  • “The Thoreau Quest,” 7-12 September 1997.  Co-leader with Dinty Moore.

  • “Taking Laughter Seriously: Adding Humor to Your Life,” 1-5 December 1997.  Co-leader with Steve Watts.

  • “Wings on the Wind,” 25-30 January 1998. Co-leader with Feather Phillips.

  • “Rachel Carson: Pioneer in Ecology,” 5-9 April 1998. Co-leader with Mary McCay.

  • “Living Archaeology: The Ways of The First People,” 3-7 August 1998. Co-leader with Steve Watts and Suzanne Simmons.

  • “A Tisket, a Tasket: Basketry in Human Culture,” 8-12 September 1998.  Co-leader with Doug Elliot.

  • “Season of Falling Leaves: Writing Our Way Through Change, Loss, and Growth,” 12-16 October 1998.  Co-leader with Anne Vilen.

  • “The Drummer, The Dancer, The Griot: Performing Traditions of Africa,” 6-11 December 1998. Co-leader with Gail, Joseph, and Sonji Anderson.

  • “Trail of Tears: Grappling with History,” 19-23 January 1999. Co-leader with Lee Ann Potter.

  • “Body Language: Writing Your Way Home,” 15-19 February 1999. Co-leader with Anne Vilen and Gene Smith.

  • “From Fiber to Fabric,” 16-21 May 1999 and 18-22 June 2007. Co-leader with Cassie Dickson.

  • “The Time of Our Lives,” 28 June-2 July 1999. Co-leader with Patti Mitchell.

  • “Practical Plants: Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Flora of the Great Smokies,” 27 September -1 October 1999. Co-leader with Cyndi Rapenske and Jim Horton.

  • “Autumn in the Woods: Experiencing Experiential Education in the Mountains,” 18-22 October 1999. 

  • “Creatively Teaching Creative Writing,” 4-8 February 2000. Co-leader with Betsy Petersen.

  • “Lift Up Your Voice,” 28 February-3 March 2000. Co-leader with Anne Vilen, Louise Kessel and Kathleen Hannan.

  • “A Gathering of Holocaust Educators,” 17-19 March 2000, 1-4 February 2002, and 19-22 February 2004, 3-6 February 2005, 2-5 March 2006, and 1-4 March 2007. 

  • “Writing into the Wild,” 28 August-1 September 2000. Co-leader with Anne Vilen.

  • “Support Seminar for Teachers Pursuing National Board Certification,” 4-8 December 2000, 17-21 January 2001 and 7-11 January  2002.

  • “Holocaust and Hope: The Dilemma of Democracy,” 5-9 February 2001. Co-leader with Mary Johnson.

  • “Nature’s Green Groceries: Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Plants,” 16-20 April 2001. Co-leader with Cyndi Rapenske and Jim Horton.

  • “Fiber to Fabric: Evolution of Spinning and Weaving,” 14-19 May 2001. Co-leader with Cassie Dickson.

  • “Life in the High Lands: The People and Land of the Southern Appalachians,” 9-13 July 2001. Co-leader with Harvard Ayers.

  • “High-Elevation Ecology of the Great Smoky Mountains,” 24-28 September 2002.

  • “Creating Successful Student Readers and Writers.” 3-7 February 2003. Co-leader with Sandra Worsham and Judy Franson.

  • “The Learning Brain.” 7-11 April 2003. Co-leader with Hal Herzog and Bruce Henderson.

  • “Green Groceries: Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Plants.”  5-9 May 2003.  Co-leader with Jim Horton and Ina Warren.

  • “Natural Rhythms of the River.” 9-13 June 2003.  Co-leader with Peter Julius.

  • “Through the Kaleidoscope: Order, Symmetry, and Change.”  8-12 September 2003.  Co-leader with Scott Cole.

  • “The Heart of Teaching.” 2003-2005, 2005-2007, and 2008-2010.. A two-year series of 8 weekend retreats.  Co-leader with Connie Hanna and Diane Petteway.

  • “Caught Up in the Current: Traveling with Lewis and Clark.”  12-18 June 2004.  Co-leader with Keith Edgerton.

  • “Fiber to Fabric: Evolution of Spinning and Weaving.”  6-10 July 2004.  Co-leader with Cassie Dickson.

  • “Songs and Tales of Whales and Sails.”  13-17 September 2004.  Co-leader with Bob Zentz.

  • “The Visual Journal: Where the Image Meets the Word.”  30 January-3 February 2006 and 8-12 December 2008.  Co-leader with David Modler.

  • “The Age of Sail.” 11-15 April 2005 and 9-13 October 2006.  Co-leader with Captain John Slater.

  • “Writing Poetry: Rhythms of the Heart.”  13-17 March 2006.  Co-leader with Katherine Byers.

  • “Environmental Tipping Points: A New Direction for Environmental Education.”  27-31 March 2006.  Co-leader with Gerald Marten.

  • “Motown Music: A Rhythm for the Generations.” 19-23 June 2006.  Co-leader with Ann Kilkelly.  

  • “Women of the Blues.”  30 October–3 November 2006.  Co-leader with Kat Williams.

  • “Celebrating Diversity Through Song.”  12-16 February 2007.  Co-leader with Elise Witt and Beverly Botsford.

  • “Daring to Lead.”  30 July-3 August 2007 and 28 June- 2 July 2008.  Co-leader with Diane Petteway.

  • “Writing by the Sea.”  17-21 September 2007.

  • “Grappling with History: The Trail of Tears.”  15-19 October.  Co-leader with Brett Riggs.

  • “Puppetry for Teachers.”  12-16 November 2007.  Co-leader with Hobey Ford.

  • “Picture This: Enhancing Literacy Through Photography.”  10-14 December 2007.  Co-leader with Katie Hyde.

  • “Women in Aviation: Pioneers of Courage.” 29 September-3 October 2008, and 14-18 March 2010.  Co-leader with Betty Shotton.

  • “Stress, Health, and Learning.” 13-17 September 2009, 15-19 November 2009, 8-12 August 2011, and 9-13 October 2011.

  • “Narrative Images: Storytelling in the Age of New Media.”  6-10 December 2009.  Co-leader with Sara Bauer and Tom McHenry.

  • “Biltmore: Vision, History, and Heritage.”  19-23 January, 2010.  Co-leader with Leslie Klinger.

  • “Reading and Writing by the Sea.”  14-18 February 2010 and 4-8 April 2011. 

  • “You Go, Girl! Empowering Girls in Math, Science, and Technology.”  11-15 April 2010 and 2-6 May 2011.  Co-leader with Liddell Shannon.

  • “Your Story, My Story: Navigating Difference in the Classroom.”  7-11 November 2010.  Co-leader with Patti Digh and David Robinson.

  • “Survival Spanish: A Language Immersion Experience.”  14-18 February 2011.  Co-leader with Elise Witt.

  • “Is There a Children’s Book in You?”  20-14 March 2011.  Co-leader with Joyce Hostetter and Carol Baldwin.

  • “On the Edge of Forever: Teaching Beyond Boundaries.”  25-29 July 2011.  Co-leader with Diane Petteway.

  • “One Amazing Year Program.”  18-22 September 2011.  Co-leader with Kevin “Doc” Klein.

  • “Catching Up with Your Students.”  14-18 November 2011.  Co-leader with Glenn Gurley.

  • “The Power of Words.”  17-21 March 2012.

  • “Leadership, Creativity, and Change.”  28-22 June 2012.  

  • “Integrating Arts Across the Curriculum.” 23-27 September 2012.  Co-leader with Diane Petteway.

  • “The Power of Play.” 29-31 July 2016. John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. 

  • “Write What You Don’t Know.” 15-21 October 2017. John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC.

  • “Saying the Unsayable: Building Meaning and Resonance Through Subtext.” 4 January – 4 February, 2018. Online for Odyssey Writing Workshops.

  • “Decoding Dreams: Harnessing the Creative Power of Our Dreams.” 13 January – 3 March 2021. Online for Western Carolina University.

  • “The Wild Inside: Exploring the Landscape of Dreams.” 14 October – 9 December 2021. Online for The North Carolina Arboretum.

Employment

Center Fellow (1994 to 20)
The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching
Cullowhee, North Carolina
Designing and leading multi-disciplinary experiential seminars for public school teachers and directing Teaching the Holocaust: Resources and Reflections, a program for preparing educators to teach about Holocaust, genocide, and intolerance issues.

Fulbright Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow (2008)
Andhra Pradesh, India
Studying the social, financial, and physical consequences of pesticide use compared to non-pesticide practices on cotton-growing individuals and communities.

USAID Consultant (January 2008)
American Institutes of Research
Islamabad, Pakistan
Designing professional development modules for English teachers in earthquake areas.

Lecturer (1992)
Loyola University
New Orleans, Louisiana
Taught Elements of Argument, Writing from Sources, and (video extension) Composition.

Teaching Assistant (1992) and Fellow (1988-1991)
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Part-time employment during graduate school included psychiatric nursing, writing, and free-lance editorial consultation (a text about depression, various dissertations, a Twayne biography and one best-selling autobiography).


Hospice Nurse-Coordinator (1987)
Peoples Home Health and Hospice
New Orleans, Louisiana
Designed and implemented new home-based hospice program. Coordinated and supervised hospice team. Planned and presented training events for staff and volunteers.

Public health educator and nurse (1986)
Misión de Amistad
Mérida, Mexico
Traveled in mobile dispensary providing health care, classes, and community organizing assistance to Mayan women and children in villages around Mérida.


Staff nurse and faculty for Ochsner Nursing Student Preceptorship Program (1981-1986)
Ochsner Medical Foundation Hospital
New Orleans, Louisiana
Experience in neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, pediatric intensive care, nursery, and emergency medicine.


Other Experience:

C.V.

Freelance developmental and line editor. Dreamwork coach. Tutor of English (technical and conversational), Spanish, and linguistics; police reporter for WNAV Radio; turn-about crew aboard the schooner Mystic Whaler; teacher of arts and crafts to special-needs children; Crisis Line volunteer; recording Clerk of the New Orleans Friends Meeting (Quakers); free-lance writer and editor; principal spokesperson on environmental issues for the Louisiana Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses; organizer and march marshal for the 1988 Louisiana Toxics March; organizer and member of the judging panel of the Louisiana Save the Lake Poetry and Song-Writing Contest; member of editorial group of Mesechabe magazine.

LANGUAGES

English—native speaker.

Spanish—fluent.

French—some ability.