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, and was the winner of the 2003 Publishing Triangle 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 and the Lambda Literary Award.

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", and a White Women's Anti-Racism Consciousness-Raising Group. From 1987 to 1988, she served as the nonprofit organization's Executive Director. 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.

Awards