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:: I am a partner.  My husband and I will have been together for eleven years this past July.  I love him more every day; I'm always flattened with amazement that he chose me to stick it out with, flattened with amazement at how lucky I am.  It is not hyperbole or wifely promotion when I say that he is the sweetest person I know.  We have two cats, two dogs, a worm composting bin.

:: We are expecting our first child in January.   I've nicknamed her "the minnow" for how she moves around inside of me. 

:: I read.  Probably more than anything else, aside from sleeping (which is what I do best).  I am a bit of a catholic reader, but when it comes down to it, I'm also a bit of a snob, preferring the literary to the escape.  My favorite authors could take up reams of paper, but we can start here:  Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Rich, Barbara Kingsolver, Annie Dillard, Sharon Olds, Anne Sexton, Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and on.  Clearly, I read more contemporary than classics, though I love the canonical as well.  See my Good Reads profile.  See also independent study, where I natter about my close readings, etc.

:: I write.  Mostly poems, sometimes memoir, also interviews and reviews.  You can see my list of publications here.  I have a chapbook coming out in December of 2010.

:: I student + teach.  I will finish an MFA in poetry at the Univ of Minnesota in 2011.  The program has us student half time and teach the other half.  In my second year, I was the events intern in the creative writing office, the poetry editor of dislocate, the photographer for the English department, and a few other things I'm probably forgetting.  I'm letting my final year be a bit smoother, given the pregnancy and the writing-of-a-book thing.  My favorite bit about being in an MFA program is the connections I've made with other writers, particularly some of my fellow "poetesses." 

:: I take photographs.  Some of them have appeared in newspapers and literary magazines.  Some of them will appear in books.  Some of them have been used to promote writing conferences, such as the 2010 Bread Loaf brochure or the 2010 Palm Beach Poetry Festival flier.  I take photographs for the University of Minnesota's English department--events, for the webpage, whatnot.  I have never taken a formal class but plan to some day.  See my messy flickr page.

:: I hike + camp.  I'm a lingering mover in the outdoors, partly because I have my camera with me, partly because I want to look at the world slowly and up close.  We camp in the summers with our two dogs and sometimes with friends.  You can see all the Minnesota state parks we've visited here; we hope to have them all one day.

:: I garden.  This is the first summer I used one hundred percent organic and / or heirloom seeds.  I like tomatoes, but don't grow them because I don't like them that much.  I have been most successful with Brussels sprouts, sunflowers, eggplant, green peppers, zucchini, and carrots.  We like to try new vegetables every year.  We have a raspberry bush that is incredible, and this summer we added a blueberry bush.  See my Freedom Gardens profile.

:: I cook + bake.  I'm a member of a CSA with a handful of my girl friends and their families.  I am a vegetarian, which I have been for about eight years, with a recent three-year hiatus (my husband is not the leftover machine that I am).  Due to a medical condition, I have a sugar sensitivity, which I'm only recently learning to adapt to.  I love breads and cheeses and milk.  I love fresh vegetables and fruits.  I love soups.  See my slowly growing collection of favorite recipes.

:: We homebrew.  Not as much as our friends though.

:: I knit + sew.  I'm not terribly good at either, but they calm me.  I've never kept anything I've made, but I will one day.  I've slowly started to keep a record of my projects here.  Visit me on Ravelry.  I also decided to document progress on things I make for the baby here.

:: I letterpress.  I own a Kelsey 5 x 7, which is finally just getting the last accessories.  I have taken a few workshops at MCBA.  I have a long way to go before I know what I am doing, but it's a wonderful journey.  I have a profile over at Ladies of Letterpress and keep a few updates at Paper Tattoo Press.

:: I have a tattoo that I love.  It was done by Shawn Hebrank, who is lucky enough to be married to one of my favorite people.  The tattoo is a reimagining of the poem "I Go Back to May 1937" by Sharon Olds.  It is to appear in a book of literary tattoos titled The World Made Flesh published by HarperPerennial.

:: Sometimes I tweet.  

:: I try to find peace in the everyday.  I've begun acupuncture for wellness, as well as yoga.  Prenatally, I go here with one of my dearest friends.

:: I love my family, both those by blood and those by choice, more than anything else in the world.  I'm blessed with a phenomenal circle of girl friends, a supporting husband, wonderful parents + sister + in-laws.  I'm not sure how all that happened, but it did.

last updated:  September 2010