Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

What, Why, How: Lucy Wang

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What: I always wanted to write, but we were poor immigrants, and my parents made it clear, early and often, that our main goal here was to strike it rich. “We didn’t move to America for you to become a starving artist.” So I began my career trading mortgage-backed securities on Wall Street, and served as a deputy chief of staff during NYC Mayor Dinkins’ administration.  When Mayor Dinkins lost to … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Kathleen McGookey

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What:  I’m a writer, and I write poems.  I have always written, ever since I was a little girl and filled notebooks with possible titles for stories that I never wrote.  I have written newspaper articles, essays and short stories, but now I only write poems. Why:  I am always inspired by whatever I’m reading, whether it’s poetry, fiction, memoir, magazines, or the newspaper.  I feel like all of … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Gay Walley

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What: What, Why, How: Gay Walley I write novels, plays and have even written two films.  This expansion of forms started in the last 6 years which keeps it moving, so to speak. It’s a way of staying fresh.  I am inspired by the challenge of getting the truth of a story on paper.  I have always been interested in form – and tend not to be conventional. I have played with time … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Alicia Bay Laurel

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What: I write, draw and sing about being a loving person living in harmony with nature.  Some of my books are fiction and some non-fiction (recipes and instructions for sustainable living); all are published hand-lettered in my cursive script, and illustrated with my ink line drawings or color illustrations. I design my own books, and prefer them to be printed on recycled paper with … [Read more...]

What, Why, How: Ethel Morgan Smith

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What: My mother used to bring home old newspapers and Newsweek magazines after the white family she worked for threw them in the trash. I learned about the Civil Rights Movement from those old magazines. The newspaper-The Clayton Record (as in Clayton, Alabama home of the notorious Governor George C. Wallace) wasn’t interesting, mostly farm information, marriages, births and obits. No black folks … [Read more...]