Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll look around, read a few poems, and feel free to contact me. I've published in many journals including 2River View, Poetry East, and The Progressive. I've received an NEA Fellowship in Poetry, and my first book manuscript, Bulletproof, was published by Jacar Press in February, 2019 after being selected by Marilyn Nelson as the winner of Jacar's 2018 Full-Length Book Contest.
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, graduated from Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and then moved to Chicago in 1984. In Chicago I lived at a Catholic Worker house for a year, then worked as a dishwasher, cook, bike messenger, and residential assistant - and met my partner. We moved to Iowa City in 1986 where I completed a graduate degree in education before returning to Chicago. Back in the city, I worked as a bus driver for a mental health center and - in 1992 - moved to Urbana where I was a mental health counselor for almost 8 years. In 2000 I enrolled at the University of Illinois and completed a library degree. I was the high school librarian at Urbana High School for 19 years before retiring in May of 2022. My partner and I have two grown sons. You can find me on Instagram @mytwords and on Twitter @mytwords, too.
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, graduated from Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and then moved to Chicago in 1984. In Chicago I lived at a Catholic Worker house for a year, then worked as a dishwasher, cook, bike messenger, and residential assistant - and met my partner. We moved to Iowa City in 1986 where I completed a graduate degree in education before returning to Chicago. Back in the city, I worked as a bus driver for a mental health center and - in 1992 - moved to Urbana where I was a mental health counselor for almost 8 years. In 2000 I enrolled at the University of Illinois and completed a library degree. I was the high school librarian at Urbana High School for 19 years before retiring in May of 2022. My partner and I have two grown sons. You can find me on Instagram @mytwords and on Twitter @mytwords, too.