Ann Farley, poet and caregiver, is happiest outdoors, preferably at the beach, any beach. Or along a river, beside a lake, down a path through forest or jungle.
The past two decades she has worked as a private caregiver for the elderly, a job that provides an endless supply of deeply personal histories and insight to the joys and struggles of aging. She has finely honed what she calls the fine art of just being there, and that quiet attention to others is the springboard for much of her writing. Nature and nurture often intertwine.
Her poems have appeared in Timberline Review, Third Wednesday, Willawaw Journal, Verseweavers, KOSMOS, RAIN Magazine, and others. Her first chapbook, Tell Her Yes, will be published on April 15, 2022.
Ann loves travel, anywhere and everywhere, from Portland to the tip of South Africa, and enjoys photography, art, a good book, and a cup of tea. She lives in Beaverton, OR with her kind and patient husband, Kevin, and their exuberant German Shepherd, Ella.
Follow her on Instagram: @farley2324
Awards
summit, Willamette Writers Kay Snow Award, 2021, Third Place for Poetry
Tell Her Yes, Finalist, The Poetry Box, Chapbook Prize, July 2021
Visiting Hours During the Pandemic, Verseweavers, Oregon Poetry Association, 2020, 3rd Place, Pantoum
Just Add Water, Verseweavers, Oregon Poetry Association, 2015, 1st Place, Members Only
“One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.”
– Edith Wharton