Printable view of Ellen Girardeau Kempler

Listed as:

Poet

Public address:

Laguna Beach, CA

California US

Email:

ellen.g.kempler@gmail.com

Bio:

My poems have recently appeared in Narrative Northeast, Writers Resist, Haunted Waters Splash, One (Jacar Press), Gold Man Review, Writers Resist, Rising Phoenix Review, Orbis and others, and have also been included in a number of local anthologies. I lead workshops focused on process and discussion; work as an editorial, marketing and social media consultant; judge poetry contests; and advise writers on creative travel. I believe in poetry's power to reach hearts and move people to action. As @placepoet on Instagram, I have posted a photo with an accompanying haiku almost every day since October 2015. My first chapbook,"Thirty Views of a Changing World: Haiku + Photos" (Finishing Line Press, 2017), grew out of this project.

Gives readings:

Yes

Travels for readings:

Yes

In which languages are you fluent?:

English

Favorite authors:

W. B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Mary Karr, Tana French, John Boyne, Anthony Doerr, Billy Collins, Jane Austen, Jon Krakauer, William Faulkner, Barbara Kingsolver, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alice Hoffman, Leif Enger, Ann Patchett, Maggie Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye, Kenneth Rexroth, Raymond Carver and others too numerous to list!

Born in:

Waltham, MA

Massachusetts

Raised in:

Eugene, OR

Oregon

Website:

https://www.ellengirardeaukempler.com/ [2]

Prizes won:

Shortlisted, Hungry Hill Poets Meet Politics Competition, 2025; Shortlisted, Bridport Prize, 2025; First Prize, Poetry, City of Laguna Beach Art Inspired Writing Contest, 2018; Blackwater International Poetry Prize, Ireland, 2016; Runner-Up: Unrhymed poetry category, Writer's Digest, 2016; Honorable Mention: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Prize, Winning Writers, 2016; Bronze Award, Solas International Travel Writing, Narrative Memoir, 2016; First prize, Laguna Beach Library Poetry Writing Contest, 2015; Runner Up, Narrative Travel Writing Prize, Transitions Abroad, 2015; First prize, Laguna Beach Library Poetry Writing Contest, 2014; First prize, Laguna Beach Library Poetry Writing Contest, 2011; Second prize, Laguna Beach Library Poetry Writing Contest, 2009

What I'm reading now:

This is the Story of a Marriage by Ann Patchett

Eat this Poem by Nicole Gulotta

Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

Exit, West by Mohsin Hamid

Identifies as:

White

Prefers to work with:

Adults

Children

Homelessness

Naturalists/Environmentalists