The Blog & I

The Blog . . . 

I started my blog to explore writing issues. Some of my posts take shape when I read something useful.  Recently, I become interested in how our personal experiences can be pertinent to writing and creativity—if we pay attention..

. . .  and I

• Contactable at:  marsha dot s dot durham at gmail dot com
• I have written short fiction. My current project, nonfiction, is based on my time living on a remote, isolated island off the coast of Tasmania.
• I am currently chair of the board at  Varuna The Writers’ House, in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia.  Varuna provides retreats that give writers uninterrupted time to write, plus the sense of being part of a community of writers.
• I was born and raised in Kansas, have lived  in Australia for many years, and have dual citizenship. I am a hybrid,  at home and not from here,  familiar and also different. These tensions shape my writing.
• Most of my career has been in education, where I worked as a writer, editor, researcher, educator, and educational manager.
  Major research and teaching:  Document design (how to make written information easier to read) and cultural issues in communication.
  Qualifications:   BA and MA literature.  Graduate Diploma communication management.  PhD text linguistics.
• Before settling into my career, I had shorter-term jobs:  bookshop manager, social/equity trainer, tutor for under-achievers. In Wichita Kansas, I managed a storefront class for expelled  ‘incorrigible’ teens. In Eugene Oregon, I worked in a social service organisation supporting clients with chronic mental illness. Starting work when I was 15, my earliest jobs included waitressing, office work, operating an amusement park ride, and running–but failing to master–a fairy floss (cotton candy) machine.