Fond memories of my childhood include writing. In fact, creating cards with poems for special holidays and penning chapter books about two best friends living at the beach rank highest on my list of things I'll never forget about growing up. Of course, skating and playing Barbies come in a close second and third. In high school, I sat on the editorial board of the school's literary magazine; and in college, breezed through writing assignments with time enough to help friends do the same. I never considered pursuing writing because how in the hell would I ever get noticed? It seemed an impossible dream. I changed degrees in college from nursing to business to education, never feeling like I truly fit with any of them. At least teaching elementary school would feed my need for creativity, which it did. I also wrote Language Arts curriculum. But after 12 years, I quit.* I wanted to stay at home with my children. Soon I would find myself a mother of three under the age of four. The only thing that kept me sane was writing. I returned to what I loved, and guess what? One thing led to another: from an op-ed piece in the newspaper to a featured article. A nonfiction story and then another. Soon my poems were winning challenges on Poetic Asides. Anything is possible!!

*After 14 years, I returned to teaching and love it!

Laurie Kolp is an award-winning poet with more than four dozen publications worldwide, including the 2015 Poet’s Market, Concho River Review, Blue Fifth Review, Referential, Pirene’s Fountain, Found Poetry Review, Deep Water Literary Journal, Amarillo Bay, contemporary haibun online (cho), Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Tough Times, Writer’s Digest and Diane Lockward’s The Crafty Poet. She placed 1st in Writer’s Digest’s tritina form competition, 2nd in the nonet form and 3rd in sonnet from, and was a runners-up for the Missouri Review’s Barbie sonnet competition, as well as placing in other contests through the years. Kolp collaborates with well-known artists, and her poem “The Sheets” has appeared with Debra Balchen at Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago. James Needham of Australia is another artist she’s collaborated with, along with Rebecca Venn. Laurie's first full-length poetry collection, Upon the Blue Couch, was published by Winter Goose Publishing in April 2014 and is available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. In July 2014, she had the privilege of appearing at Poetry Hickory, North Carolina as a featured poet, where she read from her collection and wrote a poem inspired by Wolf Kahn’s My Studio From Above in the Hickory Museum of Art. The poem, “Artistic Illusion”, now hangs next to it. Laurie has been interviewed by Robert Lee Brewer of Writer’s Digest Poetic Asides, and a recent interview appeared in the November/December issue of Southern Writer’s Magazine. A review of her book was published in Concho River Review, Fall 2014. Laurie is often inspired by nature, and her photography has been featured in Calliope, Poetic PinUp Revue and graced the cover of MiCrow8: Winter 2013.

Laurie's chapbook Hello, it's Your Mother was released through Finishing Line Press in 2015.

Laurie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialty in reading from Texas A&M University. She has served as the president of Texas Gulf Coast Writers, and treasurer in the Poetry Society of Texas. Laurie lives in Southeast Texas and mothers six (a husband, three kids and two dogs). She recently returned to teaching after a 14-year hiatus, and is working on her master's.

When she's not writing poetry, Laurie enjoys reading, running, photography and bird-watching.

Upon the Blue Couch is available on AMAZON and BARNES & NOBLE
Hello, it's Your Mother is available at Finishing Line Press