A former elementary school teacher, I am now a freelance writer, specializing in materials for the wonderful people who help children learn.

My latest publications include "ABC, Follow Me!" from Linworth Learning (2007), "Daily Editing" from Carson-Dellosa (2008), and "Word Problems" from Mark Twain Media (2008). You can read more about my books for children and teachers at http://www.lindajarmstrong.com.

I am a proud member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and other professional education organizations. I am also a full member of the Author's Guild, PEN USA, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

My poetry for adults has been included in literary journals nationwide. My first collection, "Early Tigers," was published by Bellowing Ark Press in 1995. One of my pieces, "Frank," appeared in the anthology "Chance of a Ghost." I am listed as an author by Poets and Writers.

My father, Charles F. Keck, was a California scene painter. As a child, I was immersed in the world of painters, galleries, and museums. In midlife, I began to paint seriously.

My work has been displayed in California, Arizona, and Nebraska galleries. Currently, I am showing online and selling POD prints through Art.com, Zazzle, Redbubble, Imagekind, and Cafe Press. One of my digital pieces is included in a juried show on Concourse B at the Denver International Airport (through January 2009). For more information about my art, links to my various portfolios, and suggestions for jumpstarting your own creativity, see http://theroguepainter.blogspot.com

In my free time, I enjoy exploring western Colorado with my husband. I sell photographs of our four-season trips on stock photo sites. You can view my portfolios at Shutterstock, Istock, Bigstock, Dreamstime, Fotalia, StockXpert, and more.

My passion is ...

interpreting experience through the arts.

I know too much about ...

I don't know enough about anything, so I am always ready to learn.

My parents always told me ...

to be honest.

My childhood ambition ...

to be a writer.

My favorite memory ...

the birth of my daughter

Why I write ...

I must.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

"Peace, Like a River"

My first job ...

Babysitting

My best moment ...

winning the fourth year Latin speaking contest at a Catholic high school (I attended a public school and it was a tremendous triumph for a teacher I loved.)

My inspiration ...

mystical experiences and the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Mannequins

31 of 55

To pay my way
through college,
I worked nights
in a store.
Still, well-clothed people
watched us
in dim light
after the receipts
had been counted
and I wondered
what they did
after we left.

Then, while
juggling my paintbox
on a jammed bus,
I met an artist
who, while in Europe,
had paid his
way through life
carving manniquins.

I had never
considered a hand
behind the eyes
that watched
from darkened
aisles and wondered
about other masterpieces
lurking in plain sight.

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