Karen S. Williams

Pushcart Poetry Prize nominee, and one of Poets and Writer's Magazine 2009 12 Poets to Watch, and a 2009 State of Michigan Notable Book Nominee, writer Karen S. Williams was born in Wayne, Michigan and grew up in Inkster, Michigan. She received a B.S.J. from The Ohio University, an M.A.T from Wayne State University, and a M.A. in Health and Humanities from the Program for Bioethics, Humanities and Society from Michigan State University. Karen has read her poetry across the country and is a former Poet in Residence for the City of Inkster, Michigan; former chair and Senior Poetry Editor of the award-winning Detroit Writer’s Guild; a Broadside Press Poet; a Squaw Valley Poet; a Hurston-Wright Poet; and a Cave Canem African-American Poetry Fellow. Karen's Her poetry, essays and fiction has been published widely in such periodicals, journals and anthologies including Spirit and Flame; Abandon Automobile; Bum Rush the Page; Beyond the Frontier; The Nubian Gallery; Black Hair: Art, Style and Culture; Gathering Ground and Keeping the Faith among others. Further, her writing is anchored in topics exploring the Christian spiritual quest; memoir; science and nature; American medicine; history; American arts & culture; the woman's life journey; adverse childhood experiences; inner healing and freedom; healing ones past; and community, family, and personal transformation & growth. An avid journalkeeper, podcaster, and blogger, Karen is a Certified Trauma Professional, a nearly 30 year Public Health Professional, and an ordained minister who enjoys designing and teaching journaling, creative writing, and personal and spiritual transformation workshops for communities of faith and women. Employed currently in the health abd human services field, she lives in Metro Detroit. She says of the poems in her book, Elegy for a Scarred Shoulder (Willow Books, 2008), “I rather think of these poems like Denise Levertov said of her work. They “articulate the dreads and horrors of our time” and are “necessary in order to make readers understand what is happening, really understand it, not just know about it but feel it…” She further says regarding her second poetry collection, "Marine Life" (Willow Books, 2010): "Marine life, to me, involves more than just the sea, its creatures, its mysteries and its many wonders. It also embraces the daily lives of those associated with the sea; who either live by it, work in its environment, partake of its bounty or try to protect and steward it. These are groups of which you and I are part, and the poems within this book are our stories." She is currently at work on various projects including a faith-based and location-based community, family, and personal transformation guide, and an adults and children's healing fable titled "The Blessing Chair" .