Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is an American poet, writer and professor, honored as the third Kansas Poet Laureate
(2009–2012). A professor at Goddard College
, a private, liberal arts college in Plainfield, Vermont
, she serves as the coordinator for the Transformative Language Arts track, which she initiated. Enriching people across the United States, Mirriam-Goldberg uses workshops, retreats, and readings to broaden different communities' ideals about spoken, written, and sung word.
. She received her M.A.
and Ph.D.
from the University of Kansas
, where she focused on poetry, women's studies, and mythology. Mirriam-Goldberg’s beliefs are apparent through the service she has done as Kansas Poet Laureate. Currently, she lives south of Lawrence, Kansas
with her husband Ken Lassman, a regional writer, and their three children.
on the University of Kansas campus. The program included Ted Kooser
(former U.S. Poet Laureate), Jonathan Holden
(first Kansas Poet Laureate), herself, and 17 other states' poets laureate. She also facilitates writing workshops for people of many backgrounds that she is noted for being a mentor and motivational peer. Her workshops are for people living with cancer and other serious illness, for low-income women, and for adults in transition. A certified poetry therapist, Mirriam-Goldberg serves on the executive board of the National Association for Poetry Therapy, and on the steering committee of the Transformative Language Arts Network.
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
(2009–2012). A professor at Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
, a private, liberal arts college in Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainfield is located at ....
, she serves as the coordinator for the Transformative Language Arts track, which she initiated. Enriching people across the United States, Mirriam-Goldberg uses workshops, retreats, and readings to broaden different communities' ideals about spoken, written, and sung word.
Biography
Mirriam-Goldberg was born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She received her M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, where she focused on poetry, women's studies, and mythology. Mirriam-Goldberg’s beliefs are apparent through the service she has done as Kansas Poet Laureate. Currently, she lives south of Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
with her husband Ken Lassman, a regional writer, and their three children.
Kansas Poet Laureate
Through the Kansas Arts Commission, Mirriam-Goldberg is offering a series of programs, including workshops, lectures, and readings. Additionally, she helped organize "Poet Laureati: A National Convergence of Poets Laureate" which was held in March 2011 at the Spencer Museum of ArtSpencer Museum of Art
The Spencer Museum of Art, or SMA, is an art museum on the campus of University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. While admission is free, donations are accepted. Also located inside the Spencer Museum of Art are the Kress Foundation Department of Art History, and the Murphy Library of Art &...
on the University of Kansas campus. The program included Ted Kooser
Ted Kooser
Ted Kooser is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006.-Early Life:...
(former U.S. Poet Laureate), Jonathan Holden
Jonathan Holden
Jonathan Holden, the first Poet Laureate of Kansas, is a Professor of English at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. Chosen in 2004, his two year term began July 1, 2005. He was succeeded by Denise Low on July 1, 2007.-Biography/education:...
(first Kansas Poet Laureate), herself, and 17 other states' poets laureate. She also facilitates writing workshops for people of many backgrounds that she is noted for being a mentor and motivational peer. Her workshops are for people living with cancer and other serious illness, for low-income women, and for adults in transition. A certified poetry therapist, Mirriam-Goldberg serves on the executive board of the National Association for Poetry Therapy, and on the steering committee of the Transformative Language Arts Network.
Educator
As a professor at Goddard College, Mirriam-Goldberg has participated in initiatives to further the understanding of using language and arts to transform theater arts, storytelling, drama, etc., to one's community encouragement and community-building. She is very involved in being a facilitator where people are involved in writing workshops. Mirriam-Goldberg is much like other female poets who speak about womanhood and experiences in life that have reflected her hardships with having cancer.Honors and awards
- City of Lawrence Phoenix Award
- Kansas Arts Fellowship in Poetry
- Rocky Mountain National Park artist-in-residency
Publications
Mirriam-Goldberg has published 18 books, over 50 poems and prose, all monographs, in addition to more than 190 poems published in professional journals.- Animals in the House: Poems (Topeka, KS: Woodley Memorial Press), 2004. ISBN 0-9393-9135-X
- Circle of Women Circle of Words: A Project of the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Resident Services Office (Lawrence, KS: Mammoth Press), 2006. ISBN 0-9761-7731-5 [a work of poetry by low-income women edited by Mirriam-Goldberg]
- Landed: New Poetry (Lawrence, KS: Mammoth Publications), 2009. ISBN 0-9800-1023-3 [a CD of her reading her poetry as well as songs co-written with Kelley Hunt and performed by Hunt]
- Lot's Wife (Topeka, KS: Woodley Press), 2000. ISBN 0-9393-9127-9 [poetry]
- Reading the Body (Lawrence, KS: Mammoth Press), 2004. [poetry]
- Sandra Cisneros: Latina Writer and Activist (Springfield, NJ: Enslow), 1998. ISBN 0-7660-1045-7 [biography for a juvenile audience]
- The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community, and Coming Home to the Body (North Liberty, IA: Ice Cube Press), 1999. ISBN 9781888160437 [memoir documenting her struggle with breast cancer, community, and ecology; reprinted in 2009]
Collaborative works
- The Power of Words: A Transformative Language Arts Reader, Social and Personal Transformation Through the Spoken, Written and Sung Word (Keene, NH: Transformative Language Arts Press), 2007. ISBN 0-9761-7735-8 [with Janet Tallman]
- To the Stars: Kansas Poets of the Ad Astra Poetry Project (Lawrence, KS: Mammoth Publications), 2009. ISBN 0-9800-1027-6 [edited by Denise Low; Mirriam-Goldberg provided "Ad Astra Poetry Writing Guide: Prompts by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg"]
- Write Where You Are: How to Use Writing to Make Sense of Your Life, a Guide for Teens (Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub.), 1999. ISBN 1-5754-2060-0 [with Elizabeth Verdick & Darsi Dreyer]