"About Marie," a bio

Marie was raised to grow up with a lot to say. In the late 90s, nature balanced that with an equally intense check: social phobia and bipolar disorder. Just as she found her adult voice in college, an invisible hand wrapped itself around her throat and squeezed. From that moment in the late 90s until 2023, she wrote to satisfy herself, she only submitted her writing when a personal reason demanded it, and when she submitted a piece the recipient accepted it.

What she had to say didn't help. In her personal life and her writing, Marie started conversations people still avoid today on the one hand and observed closely decades before the mindfulness trend with the other. Her observations didn't exhaust her drive to have the talks worth having. They only sharpened her style.

In 2023 an opportunity to write a poem for a specific occasion at work presented itself. The nature of the audience and event represented an irresistible challenge. The world had changed so much since she'd started writing: the elections, the pandemic, the discussions, the progress, the backlashes, and more. The event and the audience would shatter every fundamental expectation poets had relied on for centuries. Could an artist whose every work attempted conversation speak to every person there?

Yes.

Marie reckons that project and its outcome as one of the nine most important influences on her evolution as an artist. (For more about that, see About Marie. If you're wondering how and why she's a concrete poet, you'll find the answer there.)

From that moment, friendly and affectionate jokes alluding to Emily Dickinson hoarding poems in a trunk jokes ended. Co-workers, friends, family, authors, and art collectors had their opinions and felt strongly enough to set aside "Minnesota Nice" in favor of straightforward demands that she get her art and thoughts out into the world. Demands. From Minnesotans.

On February 28th, it all came together: their demands, the demands of her conscience, the insistence of her beliefs, her progress overcoming social anxiety/phobia, and the influence of extraordinary and supportive people. The moment Marie felt a personal motivation to let her art speak as loudly as possible, the one location several people had mentioned was the obvious choice. She agreed to participate in North East Minneapolis Arts Association's Art-a-Whirl 2026.

If you've read this far, you are joining the story at an interesting point. Marie has written for decades, but if you've taken a peek at her prints you know that she's about to step out on a limb. Art-a-Whirl is the nation's largest open artist studio tour. (She didn't know that when she took the leap and committed.) From May 15th to May 17th, she's debuting a large collection of a rare artform as a guest artist at Stanley's Northeast Bar, an established location that will see more visitors than Marie can fathom. (People have kindly restrained themselves from providing estimates, only gently making suggestions regarding inventory.)

You are at that point in her bio. (The second reason will appear in her blog, for those interested.)

We'll see what happens next. Until then, here are some facts other artists seem to include in their bios. Call it proof she's not AI. Marie has never seen AI adopt a cat.

Marie currently resides in Minneapolis, MN with her husband, their housemate, her five cats (Worf, Aloy, Gus, Inara, and Von), and a treasured enormous dry erase board name Kreizler on an easel named Moore. Her hobbies are: collecting coffee tumblers with thought-provoking messages or imagery, obtaining branded pens from businesses without stealing them, and surfing through books, media, and every activity and interaction she encounters like a shark who must have brain food or die.

If you're interested in more information or entertainment, check out her blog. Regardless, thank you for visiting -- and keep having the talks!