NOTE: 6.4.25 It's time for me to step away for good from my weekly posting, hosting comments and engaging with you all around the world of poetry and other made things. What does that mean? The content currently on my Substack site will continue to remain unchanged. Whether you are a new subscriber or have been following my work for awhile, take a look around by clicking on this archive link, where you’ll find not only poetry but reflective essays on everything from leaving social media to why you should read poetry if you’re writing it. Oh, and be sure to look for the curated poetry lists I’ve crafted for you. There's a tab at the top of my website here on Substack for that. To find more of my work, a link to my books and publications elsewhere, visit my author website https://jodyleecollins.com/
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Awkward Third Person Bio (the fun stuff is in the next paragraph)
Jody Collins attended Fullerton Junior College in Southern California, where she majored in English and Journalism. She holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies and K-8 Teaching Credential from Fresno State University, 1991. In addition to 20+ years in the classroom, her writing has appeared online and in print for over 25 years. She is the author of Mining the Bright Birds: Poems of Longing for Home, (Wipf & Stock, 2023), an independently published ebook “Emmanuel Poems-Verses for the Holidays,” 2022 as well as “Hearts on Pilgrimage-Poems & Prayers,” 2021 and “Living the Season Well-Reclaiming Christmas” (2017, rev. 2018).
A Bit More About Me
I’m an Author, Poet and Editor, as well as retired elementary teacher and Nana. Sometimes all at once. I began writing in Eighth Grade Typing class and words have been my currency ever since. My writing found its first home in actual newspapers back in the day and now I’m grateful to be sharing online, where I’ve been since 2012.
My husband and I are So Cal transplants to the Pacific NW where we enjoy visiting grandkids, watching birds from our deck and messing about in the garden. I’m enraptured by flowers & the trees in our greenbelt and praise God daily for the view. We traded gridlock for green and love it.
Except I do kinda miss the beach.
Before I began writing online when “Published” meant “in print,” my work appeared in places like our local newspaper and Instructor and People Magazine. My first check for published writing was $75.00. Smile.
I wrote a lot of narrative essays and Letters to the Editor; I can be opinionated when it comes to the subject of children and education. Oh, and how to be a Christian. Still working on that.
I decided to go back to school as a mom when I was 36 and graduated at the age of 40 with a K-8 Teaching degree. I spent over 20 years wrangling early learners from Kindergarten through 6th grade and loved it.
I also survived teaching middle school for two years and lived to tell it. Give me all the six-year-olds. Much of my teaching was informed by what I’ve studied about Learning Styles, which has served me well in my own writing and communicating. I finished the last five years in Special Education and learned a lot, mostly how to look at children with empathy and understanding, especially kiddos with autism.
Now that I’m retired from teaching (2016), my days are filled with scribbling down my world through words, coaching and editing other writers and sneaking in visits with my grandchildren. I do not miss the rush for the early morning school bell…. but I kinda miss recess. After teaching Elementary School forever, I’m also partial to erasers, which comes in handy when you’re a writer.
Another thing that comes in handy? After focusing my attention on Learning Styles all those years I’ve decided: Concrete, sequential, analytical thinkers are highly overrated, even though I’ve been married to one for fifty years. Give me Abstract Random every time.
P.S. I left social media in April of 2023 (sorry, not sorry) so the best way to connect is via email, which I enjoy a great deal. You can write me at jodyo (at) jodyleecollins.com. If you want to know more about why I left social media as a writer, you can read this post which includes a link to a podcast interview with the founders of Writing off Social.
Thanks for reading,
Jody
