The Writers & Their Poems/Stories
| Amelia Haller |
| Poems by Amelia Haller |
| Amelia is past president of the WPA and has served on the board of the "Distinguished Writers Series" with Laura Jensen. She is a Tacoma resident, received a BA from Evergreen State TCC campus, and has taught creative writing and poetry workshops for the Metropolitan Parks Department. She received first place in the 49th Parallel contest in Bellingham Review and her poetry collection "Horizons that Bend" was published by Writer's Digest. Her poetry was also published in the Seattle Times by Nelson Bentley. Amelia's poem "Dedication" appears at the Light Rail Station on Pacific Avenue near the Washington State Historical Museum. |
| Avis Adams |
| Poems by Avis Adams |
| Avis is a native of the Pacific Northwest and with her husband shares a deep appreciation for the parks and local history. She loves to write, which brought her back to school in her thirties where she earned an AA from Green River Community College, a B.A. from the University of Washington in poetry and an M.A. in creative writing from Central Washington University while raising two children. She is an adjunct English Instructor at Pierce and Green River Community Colleges and has poems published locally and far away, but continues to dream of being a full-time writing instructor. |
| Laura Jensen |
| Poems by Laura Jensen |
| Received a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her poetry collection, "Bad Boats" was published in 1977 by Ecco Press, New York and "Memory" and "Shelter" by Dragon Gate Press, Seattle and Port Townsend. She has received National Endowment for the Arts, Washington State Arts Commission and Guggenheim Foundation grants. She also received a Readers Digest Fund Grant and used the money to travel and do genealogy research as well as helped establish the Distinguished Poet Series in 1996. She has also translated six dozen songs from Swedish. |
| Karen Havnaer |
| Poems by Karen Havnaer |
| Karen is a poet, playwright, actress and director who has appeared and had her work performed at the Pierce County Playwright's Festival and Mae West Festival in Seattle and at Shakabrah's. She has appeared at local poetry slams, and has long been a foil for and friend of David Fewster. Karen has read at PoetsWest at the Frye and Penny Cafe and directed "Love in the Sex Counties" for Shameless Theatre Company. Karen also serves on the advisory board of PoetsWest representing our region. Her most recent project is a book about Catholic Worker priest, Bill Bichsel. |
| Melinda Holman |
| Poems by Melinda Holman |
| Melinda Holman was born and raised in rural Chicago. The outdoors have always been an important part of her life. "Rain just necessitates finding a large cedar tree to sit under." She's been published inRaven Chronicles and an anthology "The Sun Never Never Rises" and has read at Wit's End in Fremont and Barnes & Noble in Woodinville. She writes short stories, humorous essays and poetry, is self employed and gets along well with her boss. Her favorite part of Point Defiance is wherever she is at any particular moment when visiting it - right now it's the Pagoda. |
| Al Kammerzell |
| Poems by Al Kammerzell |
| Alfred Kammerzell was born and raised in Eastern Washington. He graduated from Eastern Washington College with BA degrees in Language Arts and Education. Al is a Federal Civil Service retiree and is a co-founder of the group Puget Sound Poetry Connection. His work appears in the anthologies Dark Orchid and Earthrise. He has also been published in the journal Raven Chronicles and many issues of the journal Moonthorne Tapestry. Much of his time in the past five years has been spent on anti-war and peace projects. He is our resident political activist. |
| Donna Frisk |
| Poems by Donna Frisk |
| Donna is born and bred in the Pacific Northwest. She has a recent Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. Her work has been anthologized in Pontoon III and the Survivor Project. She has taught poetry workshops and been featured at many venues, among them the Carpe' Diem Series at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum. Her work has been published in PoetsWest Literary Journal, Synapse, 4th Street while her new chapbook is called Walnut Heart, she is all fresh nougat and cream caramel. |
| Rick Horn |
| Poems by Rick Horn |
| Rick Horn is a native of Tacoma. He currently lives in Lakewood. His favorite poets include William Blake, William Stafford, and E.E. Cummings. His favorite books are mostly by Robert Bly. He is a student of blues piano and reads sometimes at the poets Against the War Open Mike at the Antique Sandwich Company, a restaurant in Tacoma. He has a degree from Pacific Lutheran University, and he works as a carpenter. |
| Jean Musser |
| Poems by Jean Musser |
| Born in Akron, Ohio, she moved to the Northwest after graduating from Smith College. Jean's chapbook is called "The Presence of Birds." She is a former art critic for the Seattle Times and editor of The Raven Chronicles. Her poems are on the promenade at Point Defiance Park and she has appeared in Poets West Literary Magazine and and Brilliant Corners as well as mute Note Earthward the WPA anthology. She has also had plays produced at the Puget Sound Playwright's Festival, has two novels underway and appeared at PoetsWest at the Frye Art Museum as featured poet. |
| Connie Walle |
| Poems by Connie Walle |
| President of the Puget Sound Poetry Connection and facilitator of the Poetry in the Promenade, she received the 2003 Faith Beamer Cooke award from the Washington Poet's Society for service to the poetry community in the state of Washington. Connie also hosts the "Distinguished Writers Series" at The Blue Wolf and coordinates the "Our Own Words" Pierce County Teen Poetry and Fiction Writing competition. Her chapbook, "Checking my Pockets for Mustard" is full of recipes for life. Her poems have appeared in Moonthorne Tapestry. Connie has also read at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle for Poets West. |
| Rick Keller-Scholz |
| Story written by Rick Keller-Scholz |
| Rick is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he grew up in the 1960's and '70's. He and his wife Nancy, a native of eastern Washington, moved to Tacoma in 1982 where he teaches religious studies and humanities at Bellermine Prep a high school in the Jesuit tradition. He and his wife have two sons and a daughter who volunteer as a family at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum in Point Defiance Park. Though he dabbles in fiction and poetry, he has published articles of historical research in Fort Nisqually's Journal of Occurrences. Earlier this year he wrote and performed a one-person show based on the life of Washington Territory pioneer/entrepreneur, William Winlock Miller. |
| Philip Red Eagle |
| Poems by Philip Red Eagle |
| Phillip is Salish and Dakota with Irish blood on his grandfather's side. He received a Newberry Fellowship for Fiction Writing and spent a month in Chicago doing research and writing last summer. He is a founder of "Raven Chronicles" and the author of the novel "Red Earth." He conducts sweat lodges for Vietnam War Veterans on the Puyallup Indian Reservation. His poem "Reflection" is on the wind screen at Union Station light-rail stop. A year ago he held a symposium for Native writers at Tacoma's Temple Theatre and has put together an exhibit, "Tribal Journeys" at the Washington State Historical Museum and is videographer for an exhibit on Robert Miller to open next January. |
Last Updated: Jan 4, 2006 9:22 AM