Karen is an  award-winning writer who lives in Oakland, Ca.

 

Her body of creative work includes poetry,  prayers, stories, plays, healing rituals, eulogies, memoir,  essays, and poetic documentaries.   In addition to her book Beneath the Blue Umbrella, her poetry  has been published in numerous anthologies and journals.  

 

Karen  was honored that her essay Ruth in the Redwoods won first prize under the Religious Category in the 2021 Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, and that she earned a  first prize under the  People Category of the 2024  Ina Coolbrith Poetry Dinner Contest for her poem Tony Unhoused.  In the same contest she won 2nd prizes under the Love Category for A Response to Wild Geese and under the Nature Category for Our Mother in January.  In 2023 the Ina Coolbrith Diner Contest also awarded her a 2nd prize  under the Beginning/Ending Category for On Passover/Easter Sunday and a 3rd Place under place category for Ode to The Blue City.

 

As the offspring of two first generation parents (from Swedish and European Jewish roots)  Karen has inherited  a passion for social justice , a  longing to travel to uncover ancestral stories, and  a passion to forge deeper connections as she uses her writing as a force for healing.