Ann Pike
Artist, Author, Poet, Teacher
Coming Soon:
Dragonfly Trilogy
PUBLISHED WORKS
Place Meditation poem here.
POETRY:
“Nature’s Fury” - The Franklin Journal and Farmington Chronicle, August 11, 1995
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“Pink Motel” - The Live Poets Society: Second Anthology, 1997
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“Dark Jewel” – Off the Coast: The Journal of The Live Poets Society, 1997
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“Memory Gambler” - animus #12, 2004
ARTICLES:
“Repeated Readings of Big Books: How Children Respond”- New England Reading Association Journal, Volume 23, Number 2, 1990
“Rushing Towards Results: Have We Lost the Vision” – A Western Maine Partnership Bulletin, Winter 1999
“Learning to Lead” – Learning and Leading with Technology, 2004
CONTESTS:
“Winter Clings” – The Franklin Journal and Farmington Chronicle, April 10, 1998 – Honorable Mention
COMING SOON:
Dragonfly Trilogy
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Where Do Dragonflies Go: At the Pond
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Where Do Dragonflies Go: In the Meadow
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Where Do Dragonflies Go: In the Forest
TESTIMONIALS
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“I love the play of words, the hide and seek of meaning, the taking of turns. I race the words to the end, thinking I will win. But somewhere along the line, the words find their pace and head down the long stretch of a blank page. And in the end, I am surprised at what the words have to say.” Ann Pike
I was born in Phillips, a small town two hours north of Portland, nestled in the foothills of Western Maine. From my beginning, books were a part of my life and were scattered throughout the house.
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As soon as I could print my name, I had my own library card, taking out as many books as the library would allow.
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About the Author: Ann Pike
At our camp in Maine's western woods, during the summer, life was like rural living in the late 19th century. There was no running water or electricity. We had a small gas stove as well as the wood stove, oil lamps, and of course an outhouse. Experiences included washing clothes in a tub, ironing with an iron heated on the wood stove, lugging water from the stream, and making butter in a wooden churn. When the chores were done, I was free to read and explore.
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At Phillips High School, I was active in extracurricular activities
from sports to the marching band to the debating team. I loved school projects that required writing and drawing and joined the art department of the Student Pen, the school newspaper. I still loved books and devoured several series one after another.
I graduated from high school in 1965 and from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1969, with a degree in education. I was off on a new adventure, teaching first in Skowhegan and then in Farmington where I taught kindergarten classes for over 30 years.
Teaching allowed me to be creative in many venues, weaving together subjects like science and reading, designing bulletin boards, and writing parent newslatters. Every day of kindergarten included at least one story. I would sing, “Story time,” emphasising syllables like an English saleswoman standing in Chester Market beside her pushcart calling out,“Flowers for sale.” I would sing again, “Story time. Clean up time.” I picked up Blueberries for Sal, while eighteen little bodies scurried to clean up. Blocks were put back on the shelves, watercolor covers closed, crayon boxes wedged into tabletop totes, and bingo cards slipped into a plastic bag. That was the perfect scene I had pictured in my mind when I designed the day. Of course not every day went as smoothly.
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I loved reading to students and in 1990, the New England Reading Association Journal published my classroom research “Repeated Readings of Big Books: How Children Respond”. After leaving the classroom in 1997, I engaged in educational training and consulting throughout Maine. It was during this time that I moved from journaling daily to writing essays and poetry. In 1997, I published my first two poems, “Pink Motel” and “Dark Jewel”.
I have switched , now, from education to full time writing and publishing. I still live in the western foothills of Maine, have two grown children, and two grandchildren. I still love reading. At this time I am reading Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, One Man’s Maine by Jim Krosschell, Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach, and Steering the Craft by Ursul K. Le Guin with a special bookmark for each to keep track of the latest reading.
I am committed to a writing life that transports me from the past into the present and future. It is a way to capture memories and to enter the present, observing closely what is happening in the here and now, like a meditation. Writing can also take me into the future and into other worlds as I put words on paper to show the adventures of the latest character that has taken up residency in my mind. I cannot imagine any other kind of work that could be as full of life as a writing life.
CONTACT
Email Me: annpikeconsulting@gmail.com