BIO: Originally from Michigan, Anjie Kokan (formerly Anjie Greene-Martin) is an award-winning writer who enjoys sharing her love of writing with people of all ages and abilities. She is available for community writing workshops, readings and discussions, and writer-in-the-schools programs.

Writing workshops may include hand-outs with example poems featuring contemporary Wisconsin poetry, writing tips, quotes, and exercises. Themes include, but are not limited to: Playing with Imagery, Embracing Nature, Memoir, Faith Writing, and Poems of Place. She can customize a program to fit your needs.

Past appearances include: Fern-Young Terrace at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; The Waukesha Women's Center; Avalon Manor; Wisconsin Public Radio's Higher Ground; High School Creative Writing Festival at UW–Whitewater; Palmyra United Methodist Church, Moms of Miracles Group at the Christian Disciple Farm in Sullivan, WI; Martha Merrell's Books in Waukesha, WI; Alice Baker Memorial Library; Palmyra–Eagle Area School District (grades 3-12); Waukesha Central Middle School; Waukesha Catholic Memorial High School; Carroll University's Academy for Creative Writing; Kozmic Coffee; T-Rex Pizza; The Neighbors' Bistro, The Waukesha Rotary Building, The Neville Public Museum in Green Bay; Barnes and Noble in Madison; St. Francis High School in Wheaton, Illinois; Conkey's Bookstore in Appleton; All Writer's Workplace and Workshop; Spring City Poetry Festival; Waukesha Public Library; Peace in the Streets event in downtown Waukesha; and Waukesha JanBoree.

Anjie is internationally published and has won awards from the Council for Wisocnsin Writers, the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, AWP, UW–Whitewater, and Indiana NOW. She has embraced various language-teaching opportunities in educational settings since 1994, including Seoul, Korea. In 2008, she was granted a scholarship through Shenandoah University's Global Citizenship Project to travel to India. Currently, she teaches ESL to adults in a community program in Whitewater and for Gateway Technical College. Publications include poetry, non-fiction and memoir. Her work is featured or upcoming in journals, devotionals, and anthologies, including Toward the Light, The Upper Room, Puerto del Sol, Best of Mamazine.com, Gravity Pulls You In, and Avalon.

Anjie is also an advanced certified lay-speaker through the United Methodist Church and is available to coordinate an inspirational poetry presentation and/or workshop (along with other faith-based poets if requested) on topics of faith, healing or autism for meetings, gatherings or retreats.

PUBLICATIONS:
You can read some of Anjie's work at these sites:

versewisconsin.org/Issue104/prose104/kriesel.html
gravitypullsyouin.com/?p=37
yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=277
thisibelieve.org/essay/84776/
mezzocammin.com/iambic.php?vol=2010&iss=1&cat=poetry&page=kokan
mamazine.com/Pages/poetry_poem61.html
upperroom.org/devotional/default.asp?start_pos=1&item_id=540229
POEMS
POSTCARD FROM MY BACKYARD

It's not the neighbor's yard picketing
its rosy white fence on our long grass.
Here it's weedy and wild and this lawn throws up
random acts of mint and lavender.
We bust alive when the sun's undoin' the dew
and the vines go spiraling to my daughter's off-beat rhythm—
look, here they go, hula-hooping up a dead crab apple
I haven't the means, or heart, to bring down.
You might hear the dogs next door yipping their nervous tunes,
but I will admit, only to you, that my cats probably started it.
Back by the old carriage house, the sunflowers
just honeybeeing themselves as the naked little boy giggles
buckets of water everywhere. Careful! You could drown here!
Last week I reached across the border,
handed some of our red-hot radishes to those neighbors
who smiled through their teeth and said thanks. They didn't mean it,
but that's OK though, 'cause I did.
Oh, if you do make it out here, you'll find this backyard song
wrapped 'round me like an apron.
I'll greet you with a hug and flood you over
with some puckered-up lemonade. And when you leave,
I'll curse you a thirst so strong
you'll be burning to come back for a refill.
Won't you come visit us soon?

—Anjie Kokan

Originally published in Free Verse