Terry Wolverton Explained

Terry Wolverton
Birth Date:23 August 1954
Birth Place:Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S.
Movement:Feminist, LGBTQ
Notableworks:Insurgent Muse: life and art at the Woman’s Building;
Embers
Spouse:Yvonne M. Estrada

Terry Wolverton (born 1954) is an American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor. Her book Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building, a memoir published in 2002 by City Lights Books, was named one of the "Best Books of 2002" by the Los Angeles Times,[1] and was the winner of the 2003 Publishing Triangle[2] Judy Grahn Award, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her novel-in-poems Embers was a finalist for the PEN USA Litfest Poetry Award[3] and the Lambda Literary Award.[4]

Early years

Born August 23, 1954, in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Wolverton grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Her grandmother, Elsba Mae Miller, a former English teacher, would often read and recite poetry to her, and Wolverton credits this for inspiring her love of language. Even as a child Wolverton was interested in the arts, especially writing, music, and drama; she graduated from the Performing Arts curriculum of Cass Technical High School in 1972.

Education

Wolverton graduated from the Performing Arts curriculum of Cass Technical High School in 1972, after which she attended the University of Detroit as a student in its Bachelor of Fine Arts Theatre program. In 1973, she transferred to the University of Toronto, majoring in Theatre, Psychology, and Women's Studies. In 1975, Wolverton participated in Sagaris, an independent institute for the study of feminist political theory. She ultimately received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in Creative Writing and Theater from Thomas Jefferson College, an experimental school based at Grand Valley State Colleges in Western Michigan, where she participated in its feminist Women, World, and Wonder program.

Wolverton also received a certificate from the Feminist Studio Workshop in Los Angeles and is a certified Kundalini yoga and meditation instructor.

Career

Wolverton moved to Los Angeles in 1976, enrolling in the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman's Building. She spent the next thirteen years at the Woman's Building where, in addition to writing and performing, she was also instrumental in the Lesbian Art Project, the Incest Awareness Project, the Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS), a year-long performance project called "An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism",[5] and a White Women's Anti-Racism Consciousness-Raising Group. From 1987 to 1988, she served as the nonprofit organization's Executive Director.[6]

Wolverton has taught performance skills and creative writing since 1977. In 1986, she developed the Visions and Revisions Writing Program at Connexxus Women's Center/Centro de Mujeres. In 1988, she launched the Perspectives Writing Program at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, where she taught until 1997. One notable writer that attended these workshops was Gil Cuadros, a Mexican American poet who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. Cuadros started attending her writing workshops for people with HIV. As a result of his participation, Cuadros published his collection of poetry and fiction, City of God(1994).

In 1997, Wolverton founded Writers at Work, a creative writing center where she continues to teach fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and to provide creative consultations to writers.

In 2007, Wolverton co-founded The Future of Publishing Think Tank, which convened writers, publishers, booksellers and publicists to consider new models for reaching readers. The Think Tank held discussions, offered workshops, conducted reader surveys, and compiled an online directory of literary resources in Los Angeles County.

The same year, she became an affiliate faculty member in the Master of Fine Arts writing program at Antioch University, where she currently works.[7]

Awards

YearWorkAwardResultRef.
1992Indivisible: New Short Fiction by West Coast Gay and Lesbian Writers, with Robert DrakeLambda Literary Award for AnthologyFinalist[8]
1993Black Slip Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian PoetryFinalist[9]
1997Bailey's BeadsStonewall Literature AwardFinalist[10]
1998His 2, with Robert DrakeLambda Literary Award for AnthologyWinner[11]
2000His 3, with Robert DrakeFinalist[12]
Hers 3, with Robert DrakeFinalist
2001Circa 2000: Lesbian Fiction at the Millenium, with Robert DrakeFinalist[13]
2003Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Women’s BuildingLambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir or BiographyFinalist[14]
Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian NonfictionWinner[15]
2004Embers Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian PoetryFinalist[16]
2006Wounded World: lyric essays about our spiritual disquiet City of Los Angeles (COLA) Artists’ Fellowship, Creative WritingWinner[17]
2011Stealing AngelGolden Crown Literary Society (Goldie)Finalist[18]
2020"For eradicating homophobia"Monette-Horwitz Trust AwardAwardee[19]

Bibliography

Author
Editor
Edited with Benjamin Weissman
Edited with Robert Drake
Edited with Sondra Hale
Scripts and Performance Art Texts

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Return to the Source; Women gather at the spot where many found their voices in the '70s and blossomed. Los Angeles Times. Lynell . George. September 18, 2002.
  2. http://www.publishingtriangle.org/ Publishing Triangle
  3. Web site: PEN Center USA Home . 2008-07-22 . 2008-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080724171314/http://www.penusa.org/go . dead .
  4. http://www.lambdaliterary.org/ Lambda Literary Foundation :: Board of Trustees
  5. Book: Fromsite tovision : the Woman's Building in contemporary culture. 2011. Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design. Hale, Sondra., Wolverton, Terry., Maltz Gallery., Otis College of Art and Design., Pacific Standard Time (Exhibition). 978-0930209230. Los Angeles, CA. 757387784.
  6. Web site: 1987-04-29. Poet May Sarton Recalls 40 Years With Her Muse. 2020-12-31. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  7. Web site: 2016-12-09. Terry Wolverton. 2022-01-19. Antioch University. en-US.
  8. Web site: 1992-07-14. 4th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  9. Web site: 1993-07-14. 5th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  10. Web site: Rainbow Round Tables. 2009-09-09. Stonewall Book Awards List. 2022-01-19. American Library Association. en.
  11. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 1998-07-15. 10th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  12. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2000-07-15. 12th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  13. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2001-07-10. 13th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  14. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2003-07-10. 15th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  15. Web site: The Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. 2022-01-19. The Publishing Triangle. en-US.
  16. Web site: Gonzalez Cerna. Antonio. 2004-07-10. 16th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. 2022-01-19. Lambda Literary. en.
  17. Web site: 2006-02-10. City of Los Angeles (COLA) Artists Fellowship, Creative Writing . 2022-04-18. en.
  18. Web site: Spry . Carleen . Golden Crown Literary Society (Goldie) . Carleenspry.com . 17 June 2012 . 18 April 2022.
  19. Web site: The Awardees of the Monette-Horowitz Trust . Monette-Horowitz Trust . 18 April 2022.

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