Mary Riley has been a member of WLT for 8 years and is registered for one of our upcoming fall classes. She lives in Austin, TX.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Mary Riley: Poetry and Memoir Writing.
Scribe: What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
MR: Marcus Borg, liberal theologian. Not much into beer or coffee. I would prefer a wine cooler or screwdriver.
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
MR: Bible with concordance, Robert Frost’s poetry, Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar, Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” and my father’s memoir. I would go nuts not being able to read or hear the news. Maybe old newspapers.
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
MR: I took a poetry class at one point taught by Scott Wiggerman about what venue to submit poetry, as well as Mindy Reed’s “It’s Not Your Mother’s Grammar” about grammar and style. These workshops were years ago. I still use some of Scott Wiggerman’s suggestions.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
MR: I want to write on what I am passionate about with a bias for clarity.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
MR: I see myself as a poetic rebel. I view poetry pretty much like Ted Badger-I have a bias for lucidity and clarity so a larger demographic will like poetry. I see myself as writing prose poetry for the most part.
Scribe 