Date:         Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:18:19 EDT
From: First And Last Name <Lana122156@AOL.COM>
Subject:      [WRITERS] SUB: BIO

        BIO way, my name is Lana.  ;-)
        I'm forty-one, never married, a single mother.  My sons are four and eig
ht.
        Why marry?  I decided to go straight to the delivery room.  When I think
 of
"altar," human sacrifice comes to mind.
        I'd rather be delivered than sacrificed.
        Really, in all fairness to myself: Life happens.  Ten years ago, I never
dreamed I'd be living in Shreveport, LA at the age of forty-one . . . a single
mother eyeing that last dollar bill, faced with a decision.
        Toilet paper or cat food?
        My first serious attempt at poetry had something to do with a puppy.  A
teacher I don't remember asked me to read the poem aloud in class.  She gave
my effort a big fat 'A+.'
        I was hooked.
        During my high school years, I was popular when the teacher's assignment
called for an original poem.  "Sure, I'll write it for you," I'd say.  "What
are you going to do for me?"
        In my early twenties, I wrote short stories.  Some of these were submitt
ed to
magazines and rejected.  At some point, everything I'd written disappeared in
the wake of time.  I stopped writing, for a while.
        I decided I was no writer.  Not good enough.  Never would be.  Finis.
        Ah, the joys of rediscovering something cherished but forgotten!  Subscr
ibing
to Writers has been like tonic for a tired soul.  It's great to be back, if
you know what I mean.
        By the way, I bought the cat food.  We use the cat to wipe.