Theresa Griffin-Kennedy

Favorite Writers: Daphne Du Maurier, Robert Olen Butler, James Joyce, TS Eliot, Ted Hughes, Scott Turow, Janet Fitch, James Fenton, and of course many, many others.

Favorite Quote: “To be Irish is to know that in the end, the world will break your heart.”

~Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Favorite food: Black olives, English cucumbers, chicken breast, fresh basil.

Travel Destinations: Sweden,
Hawaii and Romania.

Online since 2007

* Author at The History Press
* Author at Oregon Greystone Press
* Former writer with GoLocalPDX.com
* Former writer at Street Roots Newspaper
* Former editorial writer at the PDXX Collective
* Former editorial writer at the Portland Alliance

Author of...
* “Murder and Scandal in Prohibition Portland.”
* “Blue Reverie in Smoke: Collected Poems.”
* “Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories.”

Dear Friends and supporters!
On Writing and Creating an Inner Life!

The process of writing, requisite artistic inspiration and revision can be a slow, revelatory engagement of mind and spirit. There exists a difficult to apprehend whisperer of truth within our brains. That voice seems to direct the words that suddenly appear on the page; seeming as they do so, to come from something that has always existed within us.

This voice or POV within our writing seems completely alien to the manner that others may perceive us on a personal level. What we produce as writers sometimes originates from a darker less understood segment of our character or identity that we rarely if ever engage or connect with.

What we write may offend, startle, move or inspire the reader to newer levels of thought, awareness, empathy or action. Sharing our writing can be a terrifying proposition, and for others a source of becalming pride.

Learning to listen to and trust this sometimes fickle and unpredictable voice can be one of the more difficult aspects of evolving into and ultimately becoming a skilled writer. What follows is simply revision, or the hard work of being a writer, which some may not enjoy and others relish.

This website contains letters to the editor, poetry, articles and interviews, and pages detailing my published books. You will also find examples of the more raw and courageous personal essays that I am willing to share with others, irrespective of public opinion or approval.

Writing has been, for me, a meaningful, decades long exploration of the various limits and boundaries of my own skill, capacity to learn and ability to engage in fearless self discovery. Writing has given me the confidence to challenge myself with different topics I would ordinarily avoid such as exploring the subtleties of different cultures, women's rights, poetry and various forms of "Gonzo" journalistic writing. Attempting to tackle such genres as autobiographical fiction, the art of the personal essay and even pieces about social injustice are only a few of the various genres I have committed myself to exploring.

The greatest gift a dedication to writing will give us is to learn to appreciate our history as we've lived it and as its been lived. This new appreciation helps us embrace rather than reject our history. We learn to see the value in how our history has shaped each of us into the unique individuals that we are today.

Learning to value our personal histories, irrespective of the circumstances, which may be rich in chaos, joy, despair, shame, hardship, (among other things) helps us to validate who we are individually. Substantive transformative learning gives meaning to the manner in which we have suffered or persevered in our lives, or rejoiced and celebrated life.

This validation helps us make sense of the world. When we can make sense out of apparent non-sense, then understanding, freedom and peace of mind is ultimately the end reward.

Theresa Griffin Kennedy