Kathy Nelson grew up near the southern Appalachians but lived in many other places-Austin, Salt Lake City, suburban New Jersey-before those mountains called her and her husband back home. She takes delight in the fact that she lives four miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway and that she has native azalea, rhododendron, and mountain laurel growing in her yard. The music of words has enthralled Kathy from the beginning. Although she has studied many disciplines, including French literature (M.A), Mechanical Engineering (M.S.), and theology (M.Div.), and has worked in widely varying fields, including teaching, telecommunications engineering, and hospice chaplaincy, poetry has been the thread through all of them. She has felt both fed and ignited by the poetry of Jane Hirschfield, Marie Howe, Ellen Bryant Voigt, Wendell Berry, Tina Barr and many others. Like many poets, Kathy finds that writing is a way of integrating and understanding her experience and is, therefore, essential. Kathy is grateful for the inspiration and nourishment she has received from poetry writing groups in NJ and NC, as well as from programs like the Great Smokies Writing Program (Asheville) and the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown).
