IT'S OUT: I'm pleased to announce that Finishing Line Press has published The Glass Jar —a collection of poems and prose spawned from my fifteen years commercial fishing.
For those of you who pre-ordered, THANK YOU. I've received a flurry of generous comments and every one makes my heart smile. I appreciate your thoughts AND that you made the time to write.
If you haven't received your copy yet, you will soon.
You can also still order from Finishing Line Press, the major online distributors, and your local independent bookstores.
Thank you for your support!
I have readings scheduled for the fall, please click on Appearances tab above for details.
Welcome, I appreciate the curiosity that brought you here.
As you can see in the header, I’ve labeled myself: writer, educator and facilitator. What does that mean exactly? It’s a lot more complex than those three words suggest, but we live in a culture where we package ourselves for consumption and understanding by the outside world. I chose those labels because it’s likely that you googled me to learn more about my writing, understand my thoughts on education, or hire me as a facilitator for your organization. You’ll find what you’re looking for: my curriculum vitae, samples of my writing, my first teaching gig in Nicaragua, my frustration that led to facilitation training…and a bit more.
I honestly find “writer, educator, facilitator” a one-dimensional description. If I’m to present an honest portrait of who I am, there are a few things you should know − starting with my fifteen years as a deckhand on commercial fishing and research vessels. That’s not an experience I’ll ever leave behind. It informs my creative work, my high tolerance for discomfort, my respect for physical labor and a life shaped by the rhythms of the natural world. Fifteen years of fishing is why I talk to strangers in bars; it’s why I still pick up hitchhikers. It’s also why I offer writing workshops for people who have a story to tell, but who don’t necessarily want to earn a degree in writing. My writing and fishing also intersect at the Fisher Poets Gathering the last weekend of every February in Astoria, Oregon. This is a community of tenacious and generous artists and writers who understand life on the ocean. I recommend you check it out.
What else should you know? I consider my life an interdisciplinary practice in which inquiry and exploration (the foundation for my writing) is applied to all facets of my life. It informs my ongoing commitment to understanding privilege, undoing racism, making a positive contribution to my community. It informs my study of photography, gardening, cooking, hiking, bird watching, and my ongoing research into childhood trauma, neuroscience, and humans’ capacity for healing and compassion.
My interdisciplinary practice is the motivation behind my recent photography project, Them, in which I photographed a domesticated animal everyday for 33 days. These photos, taken on my iPhone, were intended as glimpses into another reality and posted on Instagram and Facebook. Why? It was an exercise in paying attention.
Perhaps this is all to say, I strive for authenticity. I’m committed to an interdisciplinary life because I believe the process of inquiry and exploration applied to all areas of my life creates a more layered understanding of the world and benefits my ability to effectively connect with a diverse group of learners and clients.
Thanks for visiting my website. I encourage you to contact me.
Sincerely,
Erin
Photos on this site are mine unless otherwise noted.
As you can see in the header, I’ve labeled myself: writer, educator and facilitator. What does that mean exactly? It’s a lot more complex than those three words suggest, but we live in a culture where we package ourselves for consumption and understanding by the outside world. I chose those labels because it’s likely that you googled me to learn more about my writing, understand my thoughts on education, or hire me as a facilitator for your organization. You’ll find what you’re looking for: my curriculum vitae, samples of my writing, my first teaching gig in Nicaragua, my frustration that led to facilitation training…and a bit more.
I honestly find “writer, educator, facilitator” a one-dimensional description. If I’m to present an honest portrait of who I am, there are a few things you should know − starting with my fifteen years as a deckhand on commercial fishing and research vessels. That’s not an experience I’ll ever leave behind. It informs my creative work, my high tolerance for discomfort, my respect for physical labor and a life shaped by the rhythms of the natural world. Fifteen years of fishing is why I talk to strangers in bars; it’s why I still pick up hitchhikers. It’s also why I offer writing workshops for people who have a story to tell, but who don’t necessarily want to earn a degree in writing. My writing and fishing also intersect at the Fisher Poets Gathering the last weekend of every February in Astoria, Oregon. This is a community of tenacious and generous artists and writers who understand life on the ocean. I recommend you check it out.
What else should you know? I consider my life an interdisciplinary practice in which inquiry and exploration (the foundation for my writing) is applied to all facets of my life. It informs my ongoing commitment to understanding privilege, undoing racism, making a positive contribution to my community. It informs my study of photography, gardening, cooking, hiking, bird watching, and my ongoing research into childhood trauma, neuroscience, and humans’ capacity for healing and compassion.
My interdisciplinary practice is the motivation behind my recent photography project, Them, in which I photographed a domesticated animal everyday for 33 days. These photos, taken on my iPhone, were intended as glimpses into another reality and posted on Instagram and Facebook. Why? It was an exercise in paying attention.
Perhaps this is all to say, I strive for authenticity. I’m committed to an interdisciplinary life because I believe the process of inquiry and exploration applied to all areas of my life creates a more layered understanding of the world and benefits my ability to effectively connect with a diverse group of learners and clients.
Thanks for visiting my website. I encourage you to contact me.
Sincerely,
Erin
Photos on this site are mine unless otherwise noted.