June 19, 2008

Linda Thompson received her M.A. in education from Antioch, Seattle with a dissertation on transformational theatre. She now teaches creative writing, drama, and humanities at Eastlake High School. Her poetry has won awards at the “Write on the Sound” conference in Edmonds five years in a row. Her poetry, essays, and stories have appeared, or will appear, in Cascade, The Kerf, Between the Lines, Arthritis Today Magazine, A Stage of the Art, The Raven Chronicles, and The Seattle Times. Her story, “Dancing on the Edge,” appeared in RASP’s 1999 chapbook, Chapped Lips. She edited and published Other Voices, a literary journal created by people with mental illnesses, and has met weekly with the same writing group since 1997, currently meeting at SoulFood Books.

R. E. Smith has authored two books of poetry. The first, A Sweeter Understanding, published in April 2006, won a Silver Medallion Award for the 2007 Bill Fisher Award for First Book, as part of the Benjamin Franklin Awards. His second book, The Window Ledge, was published in November 2006. Rick’s poems have appeared in compilations and in numerous newspapers and magazines. He created the New Poet’s Society in January 2008, a nonprofit organization that supports a poetry contest for high school age students, giving scholarships as rewards for the winners. Rick teaches as an adjunct instructor in classrooms to encourage student creativity and interest in writing.