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Laurel members from left to right: Regula Russelle, Nolan Zavoral, Lois Welshons, Deborah Keenan, Ann Iverson, Nancy Walden, Eileen O'Toole, Su Smallen, Pam Wynn, Margot Galt, Tom Ruud, Suzanne Swanson, K. Alma Peterson, Lisa Berg, Georgia Greeley, Ilze Mueller, and Teresa Boyer.
Not pictured: Annie Breitenbucher, Mary L. Junge, Joyce Kennedy, Yvette Nelson, Sylvia Ruud, and Susanna Styve.
LISA ANN BERG loves to read and write and due to good fortune and luck, gets to hear and see writing being done every day as the co-owner of a couple of coffee shops that have been adopted by an active, writing crowd. Her book, Coming Back to the World, was published by Laurel in February of 2005. Contact Lisa.
 
TERESA BOYER is the author of Burning, a collection of poems published by the Laurel Collective, and Nursery Rhyme Knits, a collection of knitwear designs that incorporate her passions for poetry and knitting. Her poetry has appeared in the Minnesota Poetry Calendar, Water~Stone, ArtWord Quarterly, The Lucid Stone and Poetry Motel. She received her MFA in writing from Hamline University. Teresa lives in Shoreview, Minnesota. Contact Teresa.
 
ANNIE BREITENBUCHER lives in Minneapolis, MN. She works at the Star Tribune newspaper where her stories about distance running have appeared. Her book, Fortune, was published by the Collective in January of 2007. Contact Annie.
 
MARGOT FORTUNATO GALT blends her North Dakota and Italian-American history in works of poetry and prose. In addition to Between the Houses, published by Laurel in August 2004, she has published four works of non-fiction and one poetry chapbook, plus numerous poems in small-press journals. She teaches in the Hamline University graduate school, and for writers-in-the-schools programs around Minnesota. Contact Margot.
 
GEORGIA A. GREELEY is an artist, vocalist, and writer who lives and works in St. Paul. Her book, Soundings, was Laurel's first release in 2006. Georgia's passion for combining words and images shows up in fine press broadsides and handmade artist's books. She has published poetry and memoir in several small presses and children's short stories in educational magazines.  Her visual work has appeared in juried shows in the Twin Cities and its suburbs and in Lanesboro, Minnesota.  Her sextet, Seven Gifts, sings for community, church and private events. Contact Georgia.
 
ANN SARAH IVERSON is the author of Come Now to the Window, Laurel Poetry Collective, 2003. Her poems have been featured on Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac. Ann's work has also appeared in Water~Stone, Margie: American Journal of Poetry, Oklahoma Review, Talking Stick, and more. As a visual artist, Ann is interested in the visceral connection between the visual image and the poetic line. A sampling of her current work can be viewed at Conte. Ann is the Director of the Arts and Sciences Program at Dunwoody College of Technology. ”Ann’s second collection, Definite Space is forthcoming in September 2007 from Holy Cow! Press. The poems in this collection trace the emotional journey of her stepson’s two deployments to Iraq.” Contact Ann.
 
MARY L. JUNGE lives with her husband and youngest son in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Her poems have appeared in ArtWord Quarterly, Avocet, 100 Words, The Wolf Head Quarterly, National Poetry Winners of the Chester H. Jones Foundation Competition (1995 & 1998), Loonfeather, Minnesota Poetry Calendars, Sidewalks, SoulSpeak, and Water~Stone, among others. She received a 2001 Pushcart nomination. Express Train, a first volume of poems, was published by Pudding House Publications in 2002. Laurel published Junge's book, Pilgrim Eye, in 2004. Contact Mary.
 
DEBORAH KEENAN is the author of seven collections of poetry; her newest is Kingdoms, published by the Laurel Collective in October of 2006. A volume of new and collected poems will be published by Milweeed Editions in the spring of 2007. Keenan teaches at Hamline University in St. Paul. In 2004 she was named professor of the year for teaching and service in the school's MFA and MALS graduate programs. Contact Deborah.
 
JOYCE KENNEDY lives in Bloomington with her husband, Wally. A retired teacher, she has metamorphosed into a poet. Her book Ghost Lamp was published by Laurel in December of 2005. She has a lively interest in the arts and has long been an advocate for the arts in education. She currently serves on the board of the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Contact Joyce.
 
ILZE KLAVINA MUELLER is the author of Gate, published by Laurel in May of 2003. A native of Latvia, she divides her time between translation and poetry. Her poems have appeared in Looking For Home: Women Writing About Exile, CALYX, Water~Stone, 100 Words, Hedgebrook Journal, and Deeper Than You Think, and her translations include Christa Reinig's Idleness Is the Root of All Love and texts in The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Spring 1998) and Leading Contemporary Poets (Western Michigan University). Contact Ilze.
 
YVETTE NELSON, author of Once a World, lives in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in The Talking of Hands (New Rivers) and Water~Stone (2002). Contact Yvette.
 
EILEEN O'TOOLE lives in St. Paul and has had poems published in Water~Stone. Her first collection of poems, Excerpts from Girl, was published by Laurel in August of 2006. Eileen is also a letterpress printer and one of the broadside artists for the Laurel Poetry Collective. Contact Eileen.
 
SYLVIA RUUD is an editor, book designer, and illustrator who lives in St. Paul. Contact Sylvia.
 
TOM RUUD is the author of Unable for the World to Sleep, published by Laurel in 2005. He has published poems in Southern Poetry Review, 100 Words, Prairie Fire, Flyway, Minnesota Monthly, Mankato Poetry Review, Water~Stone, and elsewhere. Awards, all in poetry, include: Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, Loft Mentor Series, and Lake Superior Regional Writers Competition. He teaches at The Loft in Minneapolis. Contact Tom.
 
REGULA RUSSELLE operates a small, home-based letterpress print shop and bindery (the Cedar Fence Press), specializing in fine press printing and bookbinding. Two of her books have been finalists for the Minnesota Book Awards in the Fine Press Category. Contact Regula.
 
SU SMALLEN published her first book of poetry and lyric essay, Weight of Light, with the Laurel Poetry Collective. A frequent contributor to Water~Stone Review, Su received its Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize in 2005. Other recent publications include Bloom and Bellingham Review. Su is a production editor for the international law journal, Crime and Justice, and, at St. Olaf College, directs the writing center and teaches an interdisciplinary first-year writing seminar.  She is an adjunct professor of creative writing in the Master of Fine Arts and Master of Liberal Arts programs at Hamline University.  Su is also a modern dancer and choreographer.  Contact Su. Su's web page
 
SUSANNA STYVE writes and lives in St. Paul. She received her M.F.A. degree in creative writing at Hamline University. Her poetry has been featured on Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac. Laurel published Styve's book, Miscellaneous, Tender in 2003. Contact Susanna.
 
SUZANNE SWANSON works in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a psychologist specializing in pregnancy, postpartum, and mothering issues. Her book, House of Music, was published by Laurel in June of 2005. Swanson also contributed to the collaborative chapbook The Part of Us That Craved the World. She completed a residency at Norcroft in 1993; in 1997 she was awarded a Loft Mentor Award in Poetry. She has been published in many literary journals, most recently Water~Stone. Contact Suzanne.
 
NANCY WALDEN is delighted with both the work and the play of writing poetry.  She is the author of the book, In the Tent Called Amazement. Nancy is a letterpress printer and one of the broadside artists for the Laurel Poetry Collective. She has an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University. Contact Nancy.
 
LOIS WELSHONS is the author of Where the Moon Is, released by Laurel in August 2005. Lois has published poems in Voiceprint and Water~Stone and won an award for short fiction in the Lake Superior Writers Competition. She received an M.A. in liberal studies from Hamline University, and lives with her husband, John, in Stillwater, Minnesota. Contact Lois.
 
PAM WYNN is author of Diamonds on the Back of a Snake. Significantly shaped by her childhood in the Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal regions of North Carolina , her poems integrate her experience of life with her faith. Her poems have appeared in a variety of regional and national publications. In 2005 her Poem "Resurrection" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her work has appeared in Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies, Minnesota Monthly and Christian Century, as well as other regional and national magazines and journals. She is currently teaching poetry at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Contact Pam.
 
NOLAN ZAVORAL is a journalist who writes poetry and fiction. The author of A Season on the Mat: Dan Gable and the Pursuit of Perfection, he lives in St. Paul. His first poetry collection, Heretic Hotel, was published by Laurel in February of 2007. Contact Nolan.