Welcome to
Writers4Higher
This issue, Writers4Higher features
Kathy A. Bradley
Hi, Kathy. Welcome to
the Writers4Higher family!
ABOUT ME, MY BOOKS, MY LIFE, MY INSPIRATION:
When I turned in the manuscript
for my first book, Breathing and Walking Around, I
called it creative nonfiction because that was the label Mercer University
Press had given to the literary prize for which I was submitting it. Of
course, I had to Google creative nonfiction first. I have since seen the
term “place-based creative writing” and I think that is probably a better
description of what I write.
I live on a farm. The
outdoors is both classroom and church to me, the places where I take my deepest
questions. Those questions are answered when my senses become engaged in
some way – noticing a newly-bloomed wildflower or the way sunlight strikes a
tree – and from that image a metaphor materializes. The metaphor becomes
something like a decoder ring or a map key. My job as a writer, from that
point, is to tell the story, to bear witness to the experience in such a way
that it will enable the reader, the listener to bring that same focus to his or
her thoughts.
My writing is also deeply
informed by what Southerners call “my people.” The stories they have told
and the language they use have trained me to the cadence and melody of Southern
voices, alerted me to the layered meanings of colloquialisms, made me tender to
the weightiness of words like “home” and “place”, and helped me create a voice
that sounds, to me at least, true.
I anguish over every
word. Every word. But it is good anguish because I love
words. I really do. I’m also really particular about cadence and
flow. I’ll read a sentence over five or six times to makes sure the
rhythm is right. That’s probably from my early training in and love for
poetry. I love using poetic devices like alliteration in my prose.
WHERE I SEE MY WRITING TAKING ME IN THE FUTURE:
I want my writing to continue to take me into conversation with other
people who are curious -- curious about how the natural world acts as a
template for our emotional lives, curious about the paradox that it is only by
diving deep within ourselves that we can explore the universe, curious about
the connectedness of all things.
HOW DO I USE MY TALENTS/TIME TO HELP OTHERS:
I have felt a deep responsibility for service since my elementary school
Girl Scout days. As an adult I've filled a resume' coaching youth sports
teams, serving on non-profit boards, and being an active member of my
church. As I have become more committed to my writing, I have tried to
find way to serve through my talent. I am currently a member of the Advisory
Board of the Georgia Southern University Department of Writing and Linguistics
and a volunteer with The Write Place, an annual celebration of authors and
books that takes place in my hometown. I am a frequent speaker at civic
clubs, schools, and leadership training events for women and girls.
Would
you like to find Kathy?
Check
out the links to this talented author:
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://smile.amazon.com/Kathy-A.-Bradley/e/B006UN2W4S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1457461290&sr=8-1
GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE:
Rhett
DeVane
Fiction
with a Southern Twist
