Priscilla Long
Poet, Writer, Independent Writing Teacher, Editor
E-mail: priscillalong2020@gmail.com
MFA, Creative Writing, University of Washington, 1990
Founding and Consulting Editor, www.historylink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington state history
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS
Ten essays have been honored as “Notable” in various editions of Best American Essays.
Curator, Jack Straw Writers’ Program, 2023.
Sally Albiso Poetry Book Award, MoonPath Press
Hedgebrook writer in residence
Jack Straw Productions Writers’ Program fellow
National Magazine Award (feature writing)
The Richard Hugo House Founders’ Award (a teaching award)
Seattle Arts Commission (creative nonfiction)
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Chambers of Being: Reflections on Spaces and Colors (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming 2026).
The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life, Third Edition (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming 2026).
Dancing with the Muse in Old Age (Epicenter/Coffeetown, 2022).
Holy Magic (Tillamook, Oregon: MoonPath Press, 2020)
Fire and Stone: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2016).
Minding the Muse: A Handbook for Painters, Composers, Writers, and Other Creators (Seattle: Coffeetown Press, 2016).
Crossing Over: Poems (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015).
Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America’s Bloody Coal Industry (New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1989).
(editor) The New Left: A Collection of Essays (Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1969)
My weekly science column, Science Frictions, appeared every Wednesday on The American Scholar website for 92 weeks (2011–2013). Go to: http://theamericanscholar.org/the-complete-science-frictions/
Essays and Creative Nonfictions
“Finding Our Way: On Maps and Mapping,” Post Road, forthcoming 2024.
“Purple Prose,” New Plains Review, fall 2023, 1–6.
“Cooking Our Way,” The Madrona Project, Vol. 4, No.1 (January 2024).
“Spirit / Place,” Tampa Review, Vol. 66 (2023), 84–85.
“Mood Indigo,” Fjords Review, March 16, 2023, https://www.fjordsreview.com/monthly-flash/prose-mood-indigo.html.
“Incense Cedar,” in The Universe Is a Forest, The Madrona Project, Vol. 3, No. 2 (April 2023), 69.
“Destination: Old Age,” 3rd Act, Autumn 2022, 40–41.
https://www.3rdactmagazine.com/aging/aging-artfully/my-third-act-destination-old-age/
“On Writing: An Abecedarian,” The Hudson Review Vol. 74, No. 4 (Winter 2022), 550–559,
This work was selected as one of the Weekly Top 5 by Longreads.
https://hudsonreview.com/2022/01/on-writing-an-abecedarian/#.YhVWsZPMLFo.
“Pandemic Song: A Triptych,” Shift (MTSU Writes), 2021, 28–29.
“After Long Silence,” The Tusculum Review Vol. 17 (2021), 42–51.
This work is listed in Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2021 in The Best American Essays 2022 edited by Alexander Chee.
“Blue Note,” Hobart, May 5, 2021, https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/blue-note.
“Black & White: A Diptych,” Zone 3, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Spring 2021), pp. 52–58.
“Holy Shit!,” North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 88, Nos. 1/2 (Spring 2021), pp. 169–183.
“Ten Books,” The Missouri Review: Blast, the online prose anthology, January 15, 2021 (https://www.missourireview.com/ten-books-by-priscilla-long/).
“Walking Seattle,” Stonecrop Review, Issue 2 (2019), pp. 65–76 (https://www.stonecropreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Stonecrop-Issue2-singlepages-1.pdf).
“From Chaos to Creative Achievement: The “Body of Work” Inventory,” in So, Dear Writer ed. by Esther Altshul Helfgott, Peggy Sturdivant, and Katie Tynan (Yakima: Cave Moon Press, 2019), 93–99.
“Ten Sights (I Wish I Had Seen)” The American Scholar (Autumn 2019), 16–17. https://theamericanscholar.org/ten-sights-i-wish-id-seen/#.Xiztbi2ZM0o.
“The Color Red,” Bluestem (Summer 2019). https://bluestemarchive.wordpress.com/the-color-red/.
“On Happiness,” The Antioch Review Vol. 77, No. 1 (winter 2019), 17–27.
This work is listed in Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction in The Best American Essays 2020 edited by André Aciman.
“My Seattle Garden,” Cold Mountain Review (spring/summer 2019).
“Housekeeping,” The Chaffin Journal 2019, 22–27.
“Seeing Green,” The Tampa Review 57/58 (2019), 165–167.
“Why Read?” Punctuate. November 28, 2018. https://blogs.colum.edu/punctuate/priscilla-long-2/
“Letter to My Scottish Grandmother,” The Coachella Review online blog (autumn 2018) http://thecoachellareview.com/wordpress/2018/11/08/letter-to-my-scottish-grandmother/
“Watcha Readin’ Priscilla Long?” The Seattle Review of Books, October 27, 2018, https://www.seattlereviewofbooks.com/notes/2018/10/27/whatcha-reading-priscilla-long/
“Guernica,” Alligatorzine (October 2017) http://www.alligatorzine.be/pages/151/zine180.html
“Composition in Yellow,” Tahoma Literary Review No. 10 (Summer 2017), 93–98.
“Michael of Rhodes,” The Antioch Review Vol. 75, No. 2 (Spring 2017), 38–40.
“Dwelling Spaces/Urban Places,” Punctuate. (January 17, 2017) https://blogs.colum.edu/punctuate/priscilla-long/
“Becoming a Poet,” The American Scholar, Teaching Lessons column, posted August 29, 2016. Go to: https://theamericanscholar.org/becoming-a-poet/#.V871JRRUPzI
“Lost and Found,” Natural Bridge Issue 36 (Fall 2016).
“How Chemistry Became Biology,” The American Scholar (Winter 2016), 34–42.
“Art and Grief,” guest blog, Jennifer Haupt, Psychology Today posted September 14, 2015. Go to: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/one-true-thing/201509/grief-and-art-survivors-act-love
“The Color Orange,” Pacifica Literary Review Issue 6 (summer 2015), 41–46.
“Old Things, Used Things,” The Antioch Review Vol. 73, No. 4 (fall 2015), 724–728.
This work was nominated for a Pushcart. It was listed in “Notable Essays in 2016” in The Best American Essays 2016 edited by Jonathan Franzen.
“Days on the Duwamish,” Tahoma Literary Review Vol. 2, No. 2 (summer 2015), 8–22.
“Swimming Upstream,” Smithsonian October 2014, 35–38.
“Me and Mondrian,” The Chariton Review Vol. 37, No. 1 (spring 2014), 27–31.
“On Quietness,” Tampa Review No. 47/48 (2014), 95–96.
“What Killed My Sister?,” The American Scholar (spring 2014), 32–41.
https://theamericanscholar.org/what-killed-my-sister/#.VVTRvuuQbzI
This work was reprinted in Current No. 568 (December 2014), 8–11. It was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2014” in The Best American Essays 2015 edited by Ariel Levy.
“House,” Cold Mountain Review Vol. 42, No. 1 (Fall 2013), 28–31.
“Notes Composed in the Dark of our Time,” Terrain.org Issue 34 (Fall 2013), available at http://terrain.org/2013/columns/notes-composed-in-the-dark-of-our-time/
This work was nominated for a Pushcart.
“O Is for Old,” Post Road No. 24 (2013), 84–91.
“Autobiography: An A to Z,” Fourth Genre Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2013), 115–121.
“How To Be Your Mother’s Daughter,” The Coachella Review (Fall 2012).
“Nineteen Sixty-Eight,” The Southern Review Vol. 48, No. 4 (Autumn 2012), 664–675.
“Studio,” Under the Sun Vol. 17, No. 1 (Summer 2012), 59–62.
This work was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2012” in The Best American Essays 2013 edited by Cheryl Strayed.
“Readers Writing, Writers Reading,” Line Zero No. 6 (March 2012), 7–8.
“Interview with a Neandertal,” The American Scholar (Spring 2011), 47–50.
“Anamorphosis,” Tampa Review Vol. 41 (2011), 59–60.
“Balancing Act,” Under the Sun Vol. 15, No 1 (Summer 2010), 149–153.
This work was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2010” in The Best American Essays 2011 ed. by Edwidge Dantitcat.
“Going to Portland,” Raven Chronicles Vol. 15, No. 1 (Autumn 2010), 40–43.
This work was nominated for a Pushcart.
“My Brain on My Mind,” The American Scholar Vol. 79, No. 1 (Winter 2010), 20–37.
This work was listed in “Other Notable Science and Nature Writing of 2010” in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 ed. by Mary Roach.
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fur-Covered Teacup,” Web Conjunctions June 24, 2009.(http://www.conjunctions.com/online/article/priscilla-long-06-24-2009)
“Memento Metro,” Alaska Quarterly Review Vol. 26, No. 3 and 4 (Fall and Winter 2009), 85–97.
This work was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2009” in The Best American Essays 2010 ed. by Christopher Hitchens.
“Rhapsody in Red,” Jack Straw Writer’s Anthology Vol. 13 (Spring 2009), 18–20.
“Nooks, Caverns, and Corners,” CT (Connecticut) Review Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring 2009), 159–161.
“Elegy for Roz,” Raven Chronicles Vol. 14, No. 1 (September 2008), 44–45.
Reprinted as “We Remember: Roslyn Zinn,” Jewish Women’s Archives (https://jwa.org/article/elegy-for-roz-zinn-by-priscilla-long).
“Solitude,” The Gettysburg Review Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter 2008), 573–578.
This work was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2009” in The Best American Essays 2008 ed. by Mary Oliver.
“Object & Ritual,” Fourth Genre Vol. 10, No. 2 (Fall 2008), 55–58.
This work was nominated for a Pushcart.
“Polymer Persons,” The American Scholar Vol. 77, No. 2 (Spring 2008), 108–112.
“Dressing,” Under the Sun Vol. 12, No. 1 (Summer 2007), 35–44.
This work was listed as one of the “Notable Essays of 2007” in The Best American Essays 2008 ed. by Adam Gopnik.
“A Bridge to Beauty,” Seattle Metropolitan (August 2006), 44.
“Genome Tome,” The American Scholar Vol. 74, No. 3 (Summer 2005), 28–41.
This piece won a 2006 National Magazine Award for best feature writing.
Reprinted in The Best American Magazine Writing 2006 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 3–22.
Reprinted in Feature Writing for Newspapers and Magazines Sixth Edition ed. by Jay Friedlander and John Lee (New York: Pearson, 2008).
Reprinted in The Shell Game: Writers Play with Alternate Forms ed. by Kim Adrian (University of Nebraska Press, 2017).
“Disappearances,” Ontario Review No. 63 (Fall/Winter 2005–06), 52–61.
“The Musician,” Under the Sun (Summer 2005), 71–74.
“Happy Ending,” American Letters & Commentary (2004), 191–193.
“I Am Still Here,” The Awakenings Review Vol. 4, No.1 (Summer 2004), 79–84.
“Déjà Vu,” First Intensity No. 19 (2004), 173–177.
“Hildegard,” The Chattahoochee Review Vol. 24, No. 1 (Fall 2003), 73–75.
“Inheritance,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 70, No. 3 (Summer 2003), 51–55.
“Goodbye, Goodbye,” Ontario Review No. 59 (Fall/Winter 2003-04), 144–151.
“Doing Nothing,” Under the Sun Vol. 8, No. 1 (Summer 2003), 42–47.
“Banjo: Six Tunes for Old Time’s Sake,” Fugue Vol. 24 (Winter 2002), 19–30.
Reprinted in Tribute to Orpheus (Bellingham: Kearney St. Books, 2007), 182–193.
“Stonework,” Passages North Vol. 23, No. 1 (Winter/Spring 2002), 35–42.
“Writing as Farming,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 69, No. 1 (Winter 2002), 31.
“Too Late for Miss Roselli,” in Pass/Fail (Akron, OH: Red Sky Books, Kleidon Publishing, 2001), 71–74.
“Archaeology of Childhood,” The Journal Vol. 25, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2001), 97–109.
This literary nonfiction won The Journal’s William Allen Creative Nonfiction Prize.
“Major Walter Long,” Painted Bride Quarterly No. 64 (Fall/Winter 2000), published online at (http://www.webdelsol.com/pbq/).
“We Called Ourselves Sisters,” in The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation ed. by Ann Snitow and Rachel Blau DuPlessis. (New York: Crown Books, 1998), 324–337.
“The 1913-1914 Colorado Fuel and Iron Strike with Reflections on the Causes of Coal Strike Violence” in A Model of Industrial Solidarity? The United Mine Workers of America, 1890-1990 ed. by John H. M. Laslett. (University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996), 345–370.
“Fiction as Biography: The Character as a Window on the Human Condition,” North Dakota Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Summer 1991), 201–207.
“The Voice of the Gun: Colorado’s Great Coalfield War,” Labor’s Heritage (October 1989), 4–23.
“The Women of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Strike, 1913-1914,” in Women, Work, and Protest: A Century of U. S.Women’s Labor History ed. by Ruth Milkman. (New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985), 64–85.
Mother Jones: Woman Organizer, and her Relations with Miners’ Wives, Working Women, and the Suffrage Movement (40 page monograph). (Boston: South End Press, 1976).
Short Stories
“The Rubble That Is the Past,” Persimmon Tree, Summer 2021, https://persimmontree.org/summer-2021/the-rubble-that-is-the-past/.
“The Silk Brocade, the Satin,” Solstice (spring 2021), https://solsticelitmag.org/content/the-silk-brocade-the-satin/Literary Magazine.
“Jona’s Way,” Catamaran Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall 2019), 105–111.
“Road Trip,” The MacGuffin Vol. 35, No. 1 (Winter 2019), 56–64.
“The Keeper,” The MacGuffin Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring/Summer 2013), 126–136.
“Our Separate Ways,” The Dalhousie Review Vol. 89, No. 3 (Autumn 2009), 397–402.
“Living for Robert,” The Chaffin Journal (2008), 145–156.
“Mrs. Morrissey,” Raven Chronicles Vol. 11, No. 1 (2004), 62–64. Reprinted in This Light Called Darkness: A Raven Chronicles Anthology, Selected Work, 1997–2005, Seattle: Raven Chronicles Press, 2023.
“The Visitor,” Passages North Vol. 25, No. 1 (Winter/Spring 2004), 127–137.
“Gasworks, Rust, and Smoke—Or, Notes for a Memoir—Or?” Southern Humanities Review Vol. 29, No. 3 (Summer 1995), 251–252.
“The Letter,” Widener Review No. 10 (October 1993), 71–82.
“Storm,” The Southern Review Vol. 28, No. 3 (Summer 1992), 587–597.
“The Old Man,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 57, No. 4 (Fall 1989), 40–47.
“Solitude: A Love Story,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 57, No. 3 (Summer 1989), 138–144.
“Snapshots: the Eastern Shore of Maryland,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 55, No. 1 (Winter 1987), 93–99.
Poems
“Just Because,” and “What I Don’t Know,” Watershed Review, forthcoming 2025.
“The Banjo Lesson,” Catamaran, Vol. 12. No. 4 (Fall 2024), 56.
“Writing and Drawing,” Clackamas Literary Review, Vol. 28 (2024), 167.
“Cellar Poem,” “What I Did One Sunday Morning,” and “New York City Ballet, 1963,” The Hudson Review, Vol. 78 (summer 2024), 249–250.
“Worm Farm,” New York Quarterly, forthcoming 2024.
“I sit in a coffeeshop” Good Word Walking (East Point West Press), 2024.
“Tarot Spread: Divination,” in Three Hearts: An Anthology of Cephalopod Poetry edited by Sierra Nelson, Tillamook, OR: World Enough Writers, 2024, 114.
“Memo to the Columbia River,” in I Sing the Salmon Home ed. by Rena Priest. Chimacum, WA: Empty Bowl Press, 2023.
“CatPoem,” in Purr and Yowl: An Anthology of Poems about Cats, Tillamook, OR: World Enough Writers, 2023, 157.
“Chester River Reverie,” “Birdwatching in America,” “Strip Mine,” “What Happened This Morning,” and “She Remembers America Burning,” Buttonhook Press 2022 Pamphlet Series: Americana. https://ojalart.com/wp-content/uploads/Long.pamphlet.pdf
“In the Event…,” Gold Man Review, Issue 12 (2022), 45.
“Learning Old-Time Banjo,” The Glacier (42 Miles Press), Issue One (Fall 2022), https://theglacierjournal.com/issue-one/priscilla-long/.
“In the Library,” in Art in a Public Voice: The Madrona Project, Empty Bowl Press, Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 2023), 61.
“The Cabinet Maker by Jacob Lawrence,” The Ekphrastic Review (March 10, 2022), https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/cabinet-maker-by-jacob-lawrence-by-priscilla-long.
“Burning” and “Working on It,” in Human Communities in Wild Places, The Madrona Project, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Anacortes: Empty Bowl Press, January 2022), 117, 118..
“August Garden,” descant, Vol. 60 (2021), 99.
“A Gardener’s Words for the Day,” Cold Mountain Review, Spring/Summer 2021.
“During the Pandemic,” in Keep a Green Bough: Voices from the Heart of the Cascades, The Madrona Project, Vol 2, (Anacortes: Empty Bowl Press, 2021), p. 91.
“I Am the Light of the World” and “Depression” in Solstice: Light and Dark of the Salish Sea (Bellingham: Chuckanut Sandstone Press, 2021), pp. 2 and 61.
“Summer, Seattle,” and “The Skillet Puts in a Word,” Women’s Review of Books Vol. 38, Issue 2 (March/April 2021), p. 27.
“Somewhere,” The Writer’s Café, Issue 16, “Landscape and Maps” July 3, 2019. https://thewriterscafemagazine.wordpress.com/2019/07/03/the-writers-cafe-magazine-issue-16-landscape-and-maps/?
“Ars Poëtica,” River Styx 102 (December 2019), 71.
“Things That Are Red” and “Lecture to a Girlfriend,” in Take a Stand: Art Against Hate (Seattle: Raven Chronicles, 2019–2020), 188 and 277.
“Ode to an Orca,” in For the Love of Orcas (anthology), (Eastsound: Wandering Aengus Press, 2019), 115.
“Ghazal for a Sister,” in Footbridge Above the Falls (anthology), (Seattle: Rose Alley Press, 2019), 79.
“Bluebirds,” Bellatrist Vol. 3 (2018), 42.
“Blues Factory” and “Matisse’s Radiance,” Harts & Minds Vol. 4, Issue 1 (chromatography issue) (June 2018).
“His Daily Walk,” Roanoke Review (June 2018) https://www.roanokereview.org/priscilla-long/2018
“Another Poem for Irene” and “Writer’s Prophecy,” Women’s Review of Books, July/August 2017.
“The Journal of Eugene Delacroix,” Mudfish 20 (2018).
“Coal Time,” Terrain.org (November 20, 2017) https://www.terrain.org/2017/poetry/priscilla-long/
“Nisqually Delta,” WA 129: An Anthology of Poetry from Citizens of Washington State (Spokane: Sage Hill Press, 2017), 83.
“Nile Valley Landslide” in Poets Unite! The LitFuse @10 Anthology (Yakima: Cave Moon Press, 2016), 78–79.
“Art & Life,”The Seattle Review of Books, September 20, 2016 (http://www.seattlereviewofbooks.com/notes/2016/09/20/art-life/).
“Duwamish Waterway,” Grub Street Grackle (Winter 2016), 26.
“Burgher, Insurance Broker,” “What the Wind Couldn’t Say,” and “River-Mind,” Bosque 6 (November 2016).
“Twins” and “Remembering,” Bosque 5 (November 2015), 34, 35.
“Last Childhood Poem,” Pontoon, Floating Bridge Press, November 2015, (http://www.floatingbridgepress.org/2015/11/01/last-childhood-poem/).
“Ghazal Seeking Grace,” Jabberwock Review Vol. 36, No. 1 (summer 2015).
“Calder,” Crab Creek Review Vol 28, No. 1 (2015), 13.
“Seasonal Affective Disorder,” “Cliffs of Fall,” High Road Home,” and “Why the Fremont Bridge and the Aurora Bridge Don’t Speak,” New Orphic Review Vol. 18, No. 1 (Spring 2015).
“Glacier Peak,” broadside created by Anita Boyle and produced at Egress Studios, Bellingham, 2013.
“Visitations” and “My Old Flame,” Bosque No. 3 (November 2013), 36–39.
“Neandertal,” The Cincinnati Review Vol. 10, No. 1 (Summer 2013), 118–119.
“Sister Ghost,” Bosque No. 2 (November 2012), 19.
“Self-Portrait with Flowers” and “Woods and Snow,” Stand Vol. 11, No. 1 (2012), 63.
“Dream of the Red Door,” and “Shadows and Dust,” in 20/20: Tacoma in Images and Verse: The Photography of Peter Serko Inspires Poets (Tacoma: Peter Serko, 2010), 4, 68.
“Green River Blues” and “Pantoum for a Pontoon Bridge,” Margie Vol 8 (2009), 215, 216.
“Pisces,” Sow’s Ear Vol. 19. No. 2 (Summer 2009), 7.
“I Am the Light of the World,” Aurorean Vol. 14, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2009), 28.
Reprinted in Solstice Poems: Cascadia in the Light and the Dark.
“Creatures,” The Delmarva Review Vol. 2 (2009), 50.
“Bridge Pose,” and “History (Eleventh Street Bridge),” The Cincinnati Review Vol. 5, No. 2 (Winter 2009), 177, 178.
“Bascule Bridge” and “God-Trails,” Southern Poetry Review Vol. 46, No. 1 (2008), 20, 21.
“Bascule Bridge” was reprinted in Vol. 51, No. 2, 42
“The Red Queen,” Earth’s Daughters No. 72 (2008), 57.
“Terrible Bread,” Ballard Street Poetry Journal (Winter 2008), 10.
This poem was nominated for a Pushcart.
“Daughter” and “Dutch Interiors,” The New Orphic Review Vol. 11, No. 1 (Spring 2008), 18, 19.
“Queen of the Cut,” Stringtown No. 10 (2007), 23.
“Words Referring to Unspeakable Events,” Pontoon: Anthology of Washington State Poets No. 9 (Seattle: Floating Bridge Press, 2006), 36.
“Hermit’s Chronicle” and “Pacific Northwest Nature Poem,” The Wandering Hermit Review No. 2 (Winter/Spring 2006), 146, 147.
“Red Hunger,” Pontoon: Anthology of Washington State Poets No. 8 (Seattle: Floating Bridge Press, 2005), 73.
“Decomposition,” The Wandering Hermit Review No. 1 (Summer/Fall 2005), 44–45.
“Facing East,” The Seattle Review Vol. 28, No. 2 (2006), 13.
“Journey,” Faceré Signs of Life Exhibition Catalog (Seattle: Faceré Art Jewelry Gallery, 2005), 8.
“Rune,” and “How To Make a Poem,” The New Orphic Review Vol. 7, No. 2 (Fall 2004), 49, 50.
Reprinted in Tattoos on Cedar Vol. 2 (2006), 51.
“Thief of Fire,” Literary Salt Vol. 1, No. 2 (February 2002), published online at (www.literarysalt.com).
“My Sister’s Bones,” The Psychoanalytic Experience: Analysands Speak, published online at (http://www.analysands.homestead.com).
“Reverie for Bachelard,” Hidden Oak Poetry Journal (Summer/Fall 2000), 24.
“Beauty of Coal,” “Aubade,” “Psalm to Stones” (Reprint), PoetsWest Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2000), 38, 39, 40.
“Lantern Keeper,” PoetsWest Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter 1999), 61.
Reprinted in Night Bringing Feathers (Bainbridge Is.: Fly By Night Press, 2006).
“The First Mile,” Roanoke Review Vol. 25, No. 2 (Fall 1999), 6.
“Paintings and Poems” exhibition (poems by Priscilla Long; paintings by Sandra Nickerson). The Cape Cod Conservatory, W. Barnstable, Massachusetts, May 1998; Habitude Gallery, Seattle, November 1998.
“Psalm to Stones,” Open Bone Review Autumn 1998.
Reprinted in PoetsWest Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 2000), 38.
“On the High Cost of Keeping Horses,” “Like Certain Old Women,” “Nuclear Winter,” “Snapshot: Seattle,” “Legacy,” “The Printer’s Poem,” “The Return of Geese,” “Seascape: Narragansett Bay,” “Summer Nights,” “The Light at Arles,” “Abstraction,” “Realms of Desire,” “Rhapsody,” in Seattle Five Plus One: Poems. Youngstown, Ohio: Pig Iron Press, 1995, 65–77.
“Legacy,” Exhibition Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 1995), 7.
“Dark Wings,” Seattle Review Vol. 16, No. 2 (Fall 1993/Winter 1994), 52.
“House of Anger,” Cumberland Poetry Review Vol. 12, No. 2 (Spring 1993), 27–28.
“Woman at 47,” Bellingham Review Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall 1992), 44.
“Black Diamonds,” Cincinnati Poetry Review No. 23 (Fall 1991), 30.
“Draft Resister,” Seattle Review Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 1991/Winter 1992), 5.
Reprinted in The Poem and the World (Seattle: The Literary Center, 1993), 64–65.
“The Return,” North Dakota Quarterly Vol. 56, No. 1 (Winter 1988), 94.
“Machine Operator’s Sunday,” Jam To-Day No. 12 (1986), 85.
“Anthracite,” The Round Table Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 1986), 28.
“Lurking,” Crazy Quilt Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1986), 56.
“Nuclear Patchwork,” Visions No. 20 (March 1986), n.p.
“To California,” Mickle Street Review No. 7 (October 1985), 83.
“River,” Poetry Fullerton No. 4 (Autumn 1985), 26.
Reprinted in Kent County News (Chestertown, Md.), February 26, 1987, 26.
“Rain,” Connecticut River Review Vol. 6, No. 2 (Spring 1985), 21.
Selected Essays Written for HistoryLink.org, the Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
Salmon in the Pacific Northwest, https://historylink.org/File/10443
Fourteenth Avenue NW Bridge (Salmon Bay Bridge), http://www.historylink.org/File/20462
Ballard Bridge (Seattle), http://www.historylink.org/File/11260
Catastrophic landslide hits Steelhead Haven, near Oso, Snohomish County, on March 22, 2014. (Timeline essay), http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=10792
Barnett, Jacqueline (b. 1934), http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=10422
King County, http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7905
Tacoma Expels the Entire Chinese Community on November 3, 1885 .(Timeline essay) http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7905
Seattle’s George Washington Bridge (Aurora Bridge) is dedicated on February 22, 1932. (Timeline essay), http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5418
Art Exhibition Reviews, Book Reviews, Review Essays
“Imperiled Planet,” Review of The Burning Earth: A History by Sunil Amrith, The American Scholar, Autumn 2024, 113–114.
“We Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” Review of Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic by Emily Monosson, The American Scholar, Summer 2023, 117–118.
“The Literary Left,” Review of Robert Cantwell and the Literary Left: A Northwest Writer Reworks American Fiction by Robert B. Heilman, H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=43097
Review of Art and Politics Now: Cultural Activism in a Time of Crisis by Susan Noyes Platt, Raven Chronicles Vol. 16, No. 1-2 (Summer 2012), 90–92.
“Ode to Joy,” Review of Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science by Sissela Bok, The American Scholar (Winter 2011), 116–118.
“The Peacock Problem,” Review of The Genial Gene: Deconstructing Darwinian Selfishness by Joan Roughgarden, The American Scholar, Vol. 78, No. 2 (Spring 2009), 118–121.
Review of The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century by Thomas Dublin and Walter Licht, Technology and Culture Vol. 48, No. 1 (January 2007), 205–206.
“Worked Well With Others,” Review of Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code by Matt Ridley, The American Scholar Vol. 75, No. 3 (Summer 2006), 121–123.
“New Genres and the Authors Who Cross Them,” Review of The Nature of Home by Lisa Knopp, The Man Who Swam Into History by Robert A. Rosenstone, and Woman Walking Ahead by Eileen Pollack, MichiganQuarterly Review Vol. 43, No. 3 (Summer 2004), 454–466.
“Saints and Science,” Review of The Lives of the Saints: Poemsby Suzanne Paola, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 20, No. 12 (September 2003), 11.
Review of Working the Garden: American Writers and the Industrialization of Agricultureby William Conlogue, Technology and Culture Vol. 44, No. 2 (2003), 421–422
“Literate Obsessions,” Review of The Beauty of the Husband by Anne Carson, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 19, No. 1 (October 2001), 14.
Review of Caverns of Night: Coal Mines in Art, Literature, and Filmed. by William B. Thesing, Technology and Culture Vol. 42 (October 2001), 789–790.
“PostColonial Poet,” Review of The Lost Land: Poems by Eavan Boland, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 16, No. 7 (April 1999), 17.
“Lost and Found,” Review of I Can’t Remember: Poems by Cynthia Macdonald, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 15, No.7 (April 1998), 7–8.
“Jacqueline Barnett,” Review of painting exhibition, Aorta: Contemporary Art and Culture Vol. 1, No. 4 (April/May 1997), 26.
“The Poetics of Passion,” Review of The Life of Poetry by Muriel Rukeyser, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 14, No.5 (February 1997), 10.
“Poet’s-Eye View,” Review of Nature: Poems Old and Newby May Swenson, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 12, No. 4 (January 1995), 8–9.
“Mississippi Memories,” Review of Trials of the Earthby Mary Hamilton, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 10, No. 9 (June 1993), 8.
“Miner Classic,” Review of The Unquiet Earthby Denise Giardina, Women’s Review of Books Vol 9, No. 12 (September 1992), 19–20.
“Writing for Our Lives,” Review of Critical Fictions: The Politics of Imaginative Writing ed. by Philomena Mariana, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 9, No. 5 (February 1992), cover review, 1, 4.
“A Diversity of Gifts,” Review of No Peace at Versailles and Other Stories by Nina Barragan, Primary Colors and Other Stories by Barbara Croft, and From the Lanai and Other Hawaii Stories by Jessica K. Saiki, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 8, No. 10–11 (July 1991), 21.
“Politics with a Passion,” Review of Emma Goldman in Exileby Alice Wexler, Women’s Review of Books Vol. 7, No. 3 (December 1989).
Review of The Correspondence of Mother Jonesed. by Edward Steel, Western Pennsylvania Historical MagazineVol. 69, No. 4 (1986), 367–368.
Review of Mother Jones: The Miner’s Angel, A Portraitby Dale Featherling, Labor History1974.
Miscellaneous Publications
Introduction to So, Dear Writer: An It’s About Time Writer’s Reading Series Anthology (Yakima: Cave Moon Press, 2019), 1–4.
Introduction to Nailed to the Sky: Poems by M. Anne Sweet (Seattle: gazoobi tales, 2003).
(with Staff of HistoryLink), “Virtue, Vice and Votes for Women,” The Seattle Times November 7, 2000, p. B7.
“Ludlow Massacre”” and “Jones, “Mother” Mary Harris (1836-1930) “ in Encyclopedia of the American Left ed. by Mari Jo Buhle, Paul Buhle, and Dan Georgakas (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1990).
“Jones, Mary Harris, ‘Mother'” in Reader’s Companion to American History ed. by John Garraty and Eric Foner (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993).
What is Offset Printing? A Guide to the Preparation of Materials for Printing (90 pages). (Boston: Red Sun Press, 1984).
Editor, The New Left: A Collection of Essays (Boston: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1969).
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2023 Curator Jack Straw Writers Program
2020 Sally Albiso Poetry Book Award, for Holy Magic. MoonPath Press
2011 Hedgebrook writer in residence
2009 Jack Straw Writers’ Program fellow
2006 National Magazine Award for Best Feature (for “Genome Tome,” The American Scholar)
2003 Richard Hugo House Founder’s Award (a teaching award).
2002 Seattle Arts Commission award for creative nonfiction.
2001 The Journal’s Wm. Allen Award (creative nonfiction for “Archeology of Childhood”)
1997 Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Inc., support for work on artist book.
1992 Seattle Arts Commission, award for short fiction.
1992 DeSimone Fellow, Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY.
1988 Los Angeles Arts Council award (short fiction).
1987 Research grant (coal mining history), The Rockefeller Archive Center.
1986 Berkshire Fellow (in history), Bunting Institute, Harvard University.
1986 Mary Roberts Rinehart Fund grant for work on poetry.
SERVICE AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
The Author’s Guild
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
Northwest Science Writer’s Association
National Association of Science Writers
PEN America
Richard Hugo House
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International
Washington Poets Association
Fiction reader for Seattle Review (1990–1995)
Member, Seattle Five Plus One, performing poets (1991–2000)
Cloud Appreciation Society
EDUCATION
MFA 1990 Creative Writing Program, Dept. of English, University of Washington, Seattle
BA 1967 (in history) Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio
POSITIONS HELD
1990–present. Independent teacher of writing to adult writers, including the Advanced Short Forms Seminar (1997-2015), Winter Seminar and the June Intensive. Also, coach to private clients.
1998–present. Senior Editor and beginning 2013, Founding and Consulting Editor, HistoryLink.org, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state history.
July 2024. Workshop on poetic forms (on Zoom). Palliative Care Institute, Bellingham.
2023. Curator, Jack Straw Cultural Center Writers Program for the year 2023.
2024, 2021, 2020, 2017, 2012, 2011. Faculty, Chuckanut Writer’s Conference, Bellingham. Weekend conference. Master class in Making Metaphors, Sessions in “Object, Setting, Dress,” among others.
July 8, 2019. Visiting Featured Author, Summer Reading Series, Bluegrass Writers Studio, Eastern Kentucky University.
2019, 2017 Faculty, The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference. Week-long conference. Teaching Forms of Creative Nonfiction.
2019, 2018. Faculty, BARN (Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network). Teaching classes in “Prose Style: The Art of the Sentence,” “Forms of Creative Nonfictions,” and “Tools for a Life in Art.”
2019, 2017, 2014, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2002, 1998. Richard Hugo House, Seattle. Classes in Magic Realism and Fairy Tale, Writing to See Art, The Art of the Sentence, Master Class in Prose, Tools for a Life in Art.
2008–2016. Faculty, The Taos Summer Writers Conference. Week-long conference. For nine successive years I taught a week-long class in Prose Style.
2017, 2012, 2011. Writer’s Workshop (Imprint Books), Port Townsend. One-session courses in the lyric essay, Tools for a Life in Art, among others.
2017, 2016, 2015, 2005. Village Books and Whatcom Community College, Bellingham. One-session courses in writing poetry, in prose style, and in “Tools for a Life in Art.”
2019, 2016, 2013, 2011. Writers on the Sound (WOTS). Weekend writer’s conference. Taught Tools for a Life in Art, a four-hour session on the virtuoso sentence, session on making metaphors, presentation on Aging and Creativity.
2015. Hedgebrook (the women writer’s retreat on Whidbey Island). vortex (Saturday course, composing poetry).
2015. University of Washington and Burke Museum. Day-long class in writing the environment.
2013. Faculty, LitFuse Poetry Conference, Tieton, Washington. Taught Sound in Poetry and Using Science in Poetry.
2013. Faculty for residency period, Nonresidential MFA Program, Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Taught Prose Style.
2002, 2003, 2004, 2009. Field’s End Writer’s Community and the Field’s End Writers Conference. Taught various writing courses.
1999–2005. University of Washington Professional and Continuing Education. For seven years I taught an annual spring course in Writing the Personal Essay.
1998, 1999. University of Washington Experimental College. Taught course in Writing the Essay.
1998. Washington Law and Politics. Copyeditor for the magazine.