Laura Bonazzoli
Toad Hall Editions
“When I left home at eighteen and lived on a sailing ship, my desire to write was unleashed. I had a big journal, an incredible story, lots of people to observe, and I often filled ten pages a day. Afterwards I became an archivist, keeping journals, letters, and photo albums of each era of my life, little knowing what a resource this would be for writing a memoir decades later.
Over the next thirty years, reading and writing poetry nourished my spirit and gave me a creative outlet in the midst of practicing Acupuncture, marriage and raising two children, and living in a creative community in Maine. When I completed a collection of poems, I created small booklets to share with friends and family, and I began to read at poetry readings.
In 2006, I was named the Poet Laureate of Belfast, Maine. I coordinated community poetry readings, wrote a weekly newspaper column highlighting Maine poets, and co-organized the Belfast Poetry Festival for several years. I co-directed teams of poets and artists to collaborate for the Belfast Poetry and Art Walk for seven years.
Working on an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction at Stonecoast, my skillful teachers challenged and encouraged me to go deeper into my past. I was awarded writing fellowships at Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Jentel Artist Residency Program on a cattle ranch in Wyoming, and Art Week on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine. After that, painter and writer friends and I created our own artist residencies on islands.”
