About the author
SALLY LOVE SAUNDERS is a widely published poet, lecturer, workshop leader and author of six poetry books. Born in 1940, she wrote her first poem at the age of six, and has pursued that passion throughout her life. Studying in Japan after college, and during travel which introduced her to Nehru in India and Albert Schweitzer in Africa, as well as teaching stints among migrant farm laborers, children in Appalachia, and time teaching on the Navajo Reservation, her conviction that poetry offers a universal way to express what is in your soul has remained unchallenged.
As one of the 'founding fathers' of The National Association for Poetry Therapy, Sally has spoken at many conferences familiarizing health care professionals with her unique approach to teaching poetry writing. She lectured on the Healing Power of Poetry at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, CA. Also, she gave a talk to doctors on Poetry Therapy at a poetry conference at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.
In the course of her career, she has received numerous city, state and private grants for Poetry Therapy in libraries, schools and state institutions, including the Institute at the Pennsylvania Hospital. She worked there for many years, helping people heal through the creation of poetry, expressing their inner emotions. She taught in a migrant labor camp, helping them to read & write English, as well as creating poetry. The State Department gave her a Title 3 grant to teach Appalachian teachers how to teach poetry writing and the Christian Science Monitor published her lesson plan for teaching poetry.
Sally has developed fun techniques to help individuals to get in touch with their own unique creativity. She was always interested in working with children and was a "Johnny Appleseed Poet"; getting them to think of poetry while playing games and moving around the country to inspire their creativity. As the Poetry Lady, she went from school to school in Philadelphia, working to make poetry fun, and laying the groundwork for a lifetime of interest in poetry. They would play "Poetry Musical Chairs", where the student who sat in the Answer Chair created a line of poetry when the music stopped. She specially requested rooms away from other classes so that students could make noise, stamp their feet, and have fun while creating poetry.
She continues to give poetry readings and run poetry workshops at the Institute for Cultural Integration in the San Francisco Bay area, proving over and over that "we are all poets who only need to learn how to access that inner spark". She gives monthly poetry readings via conference calls and continues to write her own poems. She has written over 8,000 poems.
Sally's poetry and articles have appeared in over three hundred fifty recognized publications, both literary and scholarly journals as well as periodicals such as the New York Times International, the London Times, the Denver Post, and the Christian Science Monitor. Sally has six poetry books published and has received many prizes for her poetry. She is also listed in several Who's Who publications including Who's Who of American Women.