Janet Cochrane MacFayden was born in Englewood, NJ, but grew up in Williamstown, MA, where he father taught geology. She received an A.B. in geology from Brown University and 14 years later, an MFA in English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She lived in Providence, RI; Cambridge and Somerville, MA; Delray Beach, FL; and Amherst, Leverett, and Shutesbury, MA. 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-tome for Yankee Environmental Systems, a firm developing 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.]

"My poems have always been a way to reach that part of me and the universe that remains hidden. On one level, many of my poems are attempts to reconcile early memories of childhood, the truth of which are now greatly altered by time. On another level, poems connect me with that dark glittering Something that stands outside of human understanding, that Something coming to the forefront in lucid dreams, meditations, and when the pen writes unhindered by the mind."

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.]

"I was initially drawn to writing poetry because it combines elements of two earlier passions in my life -- music (singing, playing the piano) and visual arts (painting, photography) -- with my love of language. And experimenting as a young adult with various crafts (including pottery and sewing) prepared me in part for the discipline and pleasures of revision. The main focus of my poems has been on nature: nature in its own right, how nature affects me personally and us as human beings (especially as a source of spiritual renewal), and how nature in turn is affected by us. I also draw on nature for metaphors in poems exploring relationships between people."

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.]

"For me, writing poetry is a way of divining what lies beneath the surface of things. If I get out of my own way, I have much to learn from the universe. I am always happy if what comes through can resonate with others."