Judith Kitchen

Judith Kitchen’s third collection of essays is Half in Shade: Family, Photography, Fate (Coffee House Press, 2012). In addition, she has edited three collections of short nonfiction pieces (In Short, In Brief, and Short Takes) for W. W. Norton. Also the author of a novel, a book of poetry, and a critical study of the work of William Stafford, she is the regular poetry reviewer for The Georgia Review. Her awards include two Pushcart prizes. A resident of Port Townsend, WA, she serves on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop Low-Residency MFA at Pacific Lutheran University.

As part of her Fellowship’s Meet the Artist requirements, Judith presented Picture Your Life: A Workshop on Writing to Photographs, which afforded spectacular results. Twenty people gathered at The Pink House Library Learning Center and shared perspectives, experiences, and memories related to old family pictures they’d brought from home—the old-fashioned kind, the kind you can hold in your hand. This spirited conversation was the beginning of a vigorous two-and-a half hour workout, a visceral exercise which continued with writing 1,000 words sparked by the photos. Each participant wrote (sweated through?) two pieces, and the group discussed various larger projects that might come out of the exercise, as well as techniques for revision. Read more about Judith’s Meet the Artist event.