About the artist
Bonnie Maurer is an Indianapolis-based poet and writer. In addition to a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry, she has earned degrees in Anthropology and Teaching English as a Second Language. She is the author of several published books of poetry, and has been working in the arts-in-education field since 1984. In teaching children about poetry and creative writing, she strives to make the process fun, imaginative and engaging for the students. “I remind myself that as a teacher I am a catalyst for writing energy in the classroom. So I bring hands-on objects to make writing more immediate and to spark students’ natural curiosity.” Some examples of her workshop titles include, “Hello Mail Box,” “The Friendly Letter Poems,” “Body-Talk Poems,” and “Native American Poems.” Depending on the needs of the class, Bonnie will customize her creative writing program to suit the curriculum. “From observing me, I hope students learn that they have permission to explore their own responses, to solve problems, change their minds, express themselves in new ways, and discover what they really think.”