photo by Mark Dixon, 2023

My NYC grandfather, Maurice R. Roche had a booming voice full of fervor and heart, especially when reciting William Butler Yeats’ poems during family parties. “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” a particular favorite, made me giddy, as the wild, unfamiliar words —“clay and wattles,” “linnet’s wings,” and “bee-loud glade"—washed over me. My grandfather’s poetry recitations shaped me into a girl attuned to and mad about language, while the voices of my mother and father singing in our NJ home, forged a love of lyric writing in me. I learned early how essential it is to find your own authentic voice amidst the noise of the world.

As the fourth oldest in a family of twelve children, it was hard to be heard. From my early years, I honed my voice and creative expression in the lined pages of composition notebooks. During my college years, I was an English major. As a young adult (and single Mom), I received my MFA in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh and have since won awards teaching at universities and high schools. Writing is my life’s work and my joy.

I’ve published three chapbooks of poetry—Voluptuous, Alley Scatting, and Bitter Acoustic and most recently, a book of poetry called Life Without Furniture (2018). My first collection of essays written with co-author M.C. Benner-Dixon, Millions of Suns: On Writing and Life, is forthcoming November 1, 2023 from the University of Michigan Press.