Angela Leigh, Author
I’ve written bios for numerous things in my life and I always wonder “what do people really want to know about me?”. It depends on the audience, of course.
My students want to know what qualifies me to teach them the content of the classes they’re in. When I serve on leadership teams, people want to know about my experience leading groups and change efforts. When I owned an independent bookstore, the community wanted to know why I chose to open a bookstore in our small town. And when I interview for jobs, I’m asked about my professional experiences, knowledge, and goals.
But I’m guessing that you’re not really here for any of those things. If you’re like me as a reader, you want to know about the things that led me to write, in general, and the things that inspire my writing, specifically. Maybe you’re curious about where I’m from or where I call home, and the places I’ve been for various reasons throughout my life. If you don’t find what you’re wanting to know here, subscribe to my newsletter and you’ll get to know more about what I’m reading these days, projects I’m working on, and what matters to me.
Where I Call Home
A tiny rural town with a post office and no stop lights lays claim to most of my childhood experiences. I was born in Salisbury, NC, lived in the city, proper, until I was six year sold. Then we moved to Mt. Ulla where I lived until heading off to college. Home offered sufficient land to roam and let my imagination run wild. Softball, riding bikes, reading, gathering rocks and sticks and leaves up for “potion” making, helping in the garden, and playing in the shade of the pear, apple, oak, or pecan trees made for a childhood full of adventures. I still remember the way thunderstorms rolled in, the sun set just below mamaw’s yard, and watermelon juice running down my arms and legs as I was told to “sit like a lady” (which I never did), the smell of hamburgers over a charcoal grill, the way fireflies decorated the sky, the sound of cars pulling into the dirt driveway.
Nowadays
I’m still a sucker for fireflies at night, collecting rocks, and the shade of a good, strong tree. I’m also a hopeless romantic who finds poetry in everything, loves the way words come together to tell stories, and who believes in trying to leave the world better than we found it.
After living in Chapel Hill, Buies Creek, and Fuquay Varina, I’m calling western NC home these days (at least for the time being).
In addition to writing poetry every chance I get, I’m also a college professor at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk. In addition to teaching online classes, I’m also the Program Coordinator for the BAAS degree program in Human Services.
I can also be found out for a run, lifting weights at the gym, trekking through the woods, reading, or thrifting. I have two amazing teens that call me mom, an enthusiastic German Shepherd-Husky dog named Apollo who is double digits but acts like a pup, and a host of plant babies that keep me on my toes.
Writing…
Along this journey from home to now, I began writing. I have enjoyed writing and creating new worlds and documenting ideas and memories and experiences for as long as I can remember. As a child, I wrote plays for my siblings and I to perform. In middle school, a beloved science teacher gave us creative freedom to demonstrate our knowledge of topics and I wrote short stories. I wrote for the school newspaper. I wrote copy for my college yearbook.
In high school, I thought I hated poetry. Spoiler: I didn’t! I simply did not realize what poetry truly is and can be but once I realized that poetry is a form of storytelling, and that there are so many ways to write poetry, I was hooked. From only writing free verse to branching out to new poetic structures, from writing as inspiration hit me to writing from prompts, the more poetry I read, the more poetry I wrote.
The In-Between
So what about the time in-between childhood and now… Along the way I’ve earned three college degrees, have worked as a college professor, career counselor, academic advisor, and therapist in private practice. I’ve also taught 9th grade English in the public schools as well as Humanities courses on Classic mythology and Greek drama to seniors at a residential public school. Work experience also includes serving as a volunteer coordinator for a non-profit focused on homelessness and food insecurity and I also owned an independent bookstore for five years, focusing on advocacy and social justice alongside selling books and hosting community events. I co-founded a non-profit that was active in the community for a short time until its purpose was met, and I serve on advisory boards for causes that matter to me.
In 2005 a reality show aired and one of the contestants was a member of Mensa, an organization recognizing individuals who score in the top 2 percent of the general population on accepted standardized intelligence tests. As someone who’s “thing” was being smart, I knew I’d found a new personal goal to attain. So in 2014 I tested and became a member of Mensa.