Western New England Poetry Collection

Janet MacFadyen received an A.B. in geology from Brown University and 14 years later, an MFA in English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her early adulthood she tried many different professions, including soup cook, woodworking, piano tuning, various secretarial jobs, welfare worker, and personnel recruiter. After her MFA, she worked as a freelance writer/editor for many area schools. Later she also worked part-time for a company that developed meteorological instruments. Her first poetry teacher was Harold Bond in Cambridge, MA; later Susan Mitchell at Florida Atlantic University became an important influence. Workshops with James Tate and Dara Wier all informed her work. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]

Susan Middleton , born 4/18/49 in Cambridge, MA, has lived in Ashfield MA since 1991. She has a BS in Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and since 1986 has worked as a freelance writer and editor of mostly science textbooks. She was one of the six founders of Slate Roof Press, which works collectively to publish chapbooks of its Franklin County members. In her spare time, she leads hikes for the Appalachian Mountain Club, tutors ESL students, and of course writes. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]

Poetry and art by teen mothers studying at The Care Center

Susie Allen Patlove was born in Boston in 1947 and lived in Hingham, MA until she was twelve, at which time her family moved to Red Bank, NJ. She was educated at Smith College and UC Berkeley, taking a degree from Smith in Chinese History. She has long been a student and practitioner of Zen Buddhism. She has worked at a variety of jobs including nursery school teacher, housecleaner, landscape gardener, editor and bookstore clerk. She now works at the Arms Library in Shelburne Falls. [Biographical statement courtesy Slate Roof Press.]