I am an educator, speech writer, civic and political activist, abecedarian composer, dabbling polyglot, dilettante polymath, home chef, overall foodie, and world traveler, in no particular order. With degrees from CUNY Queens College and Teachers College, Columbia University, I became a special educator in the NYC school system, when the numerous state and federal laws mandated the establishment of classes for an under serviced population of children. My teaching experiences range from nursery school music to post-graduate university assistant. Although retired, I maintain a private practice working with high school, post-graduate, and adult students who find putting words to paper an alien art form.
Following a double concentration in Theatre and English, writing was always close at-hand, literally and figuratively. My first novel, written in fifth grade, was a child’s posthumous tribute to H.G. Wells, Adventures in Time included sojourns to Topsy-Turvy Land and The Mushroom Planet. In 2018, I was the first recipient of the Florida Keys Writers Conference award for narrative non-fiction for Fish on A Leash, Reeling in the Backstory of the Most Extraordinary Theft in American Educational History, a work-in-progress.
Skipping between two islands—Long Island, New York and Key West, Florida, I found a home with the talented members of the Key West Writers Guild, who were instrumental in the creation of my debut prose poem, The Ridiculous Horny Snail, An Ode in Two Acts, a coffee table artbook for adults, has been recently released to an unwary adult public. Sequels are in the planning stages, including a children’s version of the snails adventures in and around Key West.
My far-flung travel blogs, stretched from the world’s highest internet café on Mount Everest, over The Alps, across the Big Blue Pond and the heartland of America, even from the heart of darkness–the wilds of the Peruvian Amazon jungle, reaching a wide-eyed and ever-widening audience. Whether it is an adventure to find the most esoteric spot on earth or through words scribbled in the margins of notebooks, my peripatetic pursuit of knowledge is carrying me through my Social Security years.
Copies of The Ridiculous Horny Snail, An Ode in Two Acts may be ordered through the bookstore, linking you directly to the secure order and payment page, other sites may be found listed on the Poetry section of the menu bar. Personalized inscriptions can be requested if you contact me through the comment section of the website or directly at jdw492211@gmail.com after placing an order.
Copyright 2018 Judith D. Winters