Kathleen Flenniken is author of the forthcoming poetry collection “Waking,” part of the Pacific Northwest Poetry Series edited by Linda Bierds and published by Lynx House Press. Her three previous collections include Post Romantic (University of Washington Press, 2020), named a finalist for the Washington State Book Award,  Plume (University of Washington Press, 2012) winner of the Washington State Book Award and a finalist for the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and Famous (University of Nebraska Press, 2006), winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and named a Notable Book by the American Library Association.

Kathleen’s other awards include a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Artist Trust. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012 – 2014.

For two decades Kathleen taught children poetry through arts agencies like Writers in the Schools and Jack Straw, and for 13 years she was an editor at Floating Bridge Press, a nonprofit press dedicated to publishing Washington State poets. She currently serves on the board of Jack Straw, an audio arts studio and cultural center, and Hanford Challenge, promoting a sustainable environmental legacy at the Hanford Site.

Kathleen holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Pacific Lutheran University, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. She lives in Seattle.

Photography:  Elisabeth Flenniken

Contact Kathleen: mailto:mail@kathleenflenniken.com