MaryAnn Mulhern

Mary Ann Mulhern is a Windsor teacher and poet. Her poem “Freedom’s Rail,” won first prize in the 2001 Windsor/Detroit Freedom Festival poetry contest. Her poems have appeared in “Good Times” magazine. The Canadian Poetry Association published six of her poems in the 2002 anthology, Windfall. Her first book of poetry, The Red Dress, has been published by Black Moss Press. Prior to publication, Mulhern read some of these poems at the University of Windsor and was a featured reader at an evening in Leamington, Ontario. Also, poems from The Red Dress appeared in "The Windsor Review," a literary journal published by the University of Windsor.  The Red Dress was launched at Black Moss Press night which was held at the University of Windsor. Mary Ann Mulhern has also read at the public library in St. Thomas, Ont. and was the featured reader at the Leddy Library, University of Windsor. An interview with CBC radio will be broadcast Canada wide later this year on the program “Tapestry.”

Awards
First prize, Windsor/Detroit Freedom Festival poetry contest, 2001.

Selected Publications
The Red Dress (Black Moss press, 2003).

Selected Anthologies        
Windfall, Canadian Poetry Association, 2002.

Poet in the School
(Windsor, Ontario)

Mary Ann Mulhern is a retired teacher and poet. Her first book of poetry, The Red Dress, published by Black Moss press, 2003, has already gone into a second printing. Mulhern was interviewed by Mary Hynes on Tapestry, a national CBC radio program. She has done numberous readings in Ontario.

As a teacher, Mary Ann Mulhern conducted many educational workshops. Her poetry workshop in classrooms has been extremely successful.

Grade Levels: all

Fees: standard

Classroom Approach:
I work with the process of writing poetry, using overheads and direct reference to various stles of writing poetry. Canadian poets such as John B. Lee are a resource. I discuss the materials a poet needs, e.g. a thesaurus, access to an encyclopedia, the Canadian Writers' market, etc. The students are directly inovlved in writing, using the five senses. I encourage students to either read their work or have me edit their results. Since I am an experienced teacher and have often made presentations, I greatly enjoy the classroom experience, and so do the kids.