Anne Marie grew up six of seven kids at the mouth of a granite canyon carved by a river over thousands of years. She found refuge and solace in the immediacy of nature while carrying books of poetry on walks in the woods. She, like Mary Oliver, got saved by poetry and the beauty of the earth.

It wasn’t until she found herself in graduate courses in England that she realized she might have a gift with words—though they didn’t come easy. With the help of two professor-tutors, she discovered the deep satisfaction of writing, rewriting, and starting all over again.

During her studies, Anne Marie created her own version of poetry analysis which she called “The Soundscape Ecology of Poetry,” determined to give as much attention, if not more, to the sounds and feel of the words as their definitions. Poetry, after all, was meant to be heard, to be spoken, to be felt in the very same way we experience and feel music.

Still, she did not call herself an artist. More attracted to the praise of an active intellect, she pursued corporate positions that, again and again, ended when she became frustrated and disillusioned. There were always more creative side projects that swept her off her feet—from writing, editing, and publishing niche magazines, submitting and publishing essays for environmental anthologies, hosting and producing podcasts about poetry and nature’s rhythms, and starting her own non-profit organization to fund her Wisdom Anthologies project where she documented elder women in small communities all over the world.

Finally, after all the struggle in the corporate world, she admitted she might indeed be an artist—far more interested in possibility and the human condition than data analysis and business strategy. Finally.

Over the past few years, Anne Marie has devoted herself to the rhythm of clay to help her lose her mind and come home to her senses. Her micro-seasonal poetry and photography have become more intuitive, undefined, and filled with the pleasure of being alive.

She lives in Park City with her husband where they run a gelateria and espresso shop together.