Kathleen Melin
Author-Educator
By Heart:
A mother’s story of children and learning at home
Memoir
A literary page-turner of a memoir that strips away facades and invites readers to an intimate portrayal of one homeschool family. Ultimately, this rare and heartfelt telling affirms all those who live their lives beyond tidy boxes and categories.
Eric Utne, founder of the Utne Reader
Cosmo Doogood’s Urban Almanac
Author of Brenda My Darling
About the Author
Kathleen Melin
Kathleen Melin is the author of the progressive education and parenting memoir By Heart: A Mother’s Story of Children and Learning at Home (Clover Valley Press October 2008). Her creative work has appeared in The Baltimore Review, EssayDaily, Split Rock Review, and Eric Utne’s Cosmo DooGoods Urban Almanac. She has worked as a magazine editor, a newspaper reporter, grant writer, ghost writer, publicist, and as a freelance writer for national and regional publications. She holds an MFA from the University of Minnesota and has taught at the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Summit School for the Arts, and at seminars and conferences around the country. She lives on her ancestral farm in Wisconsin where she cultivates creativity.
Coming Soon
The Somewhat Accurate True Story of a Blue-Collar White Girl
A coming-of-age memoir of the 1960s about a determined daughter’s quest to break out of the domestic role imposed on girls and go to college.
Beautiful Brain
A memoir of the surreal journey following a brain hemorrhage from the place between and back to life that shares the gifts of the crisis and the struggle to live in peace and wholeness
Blue Pearl
A fifteen-year old girl makes one futile attempt after another to find her mother, ignoring her own inner knowledge and the rumors of disruption in the outside world. When two sudden shocks collide, she must face who she is and reconcile her fantasies with the stark limitations of the home she never questioned.
Services
Consultation
It’s an honor to work with dedicated purposeful writers.
Education
I believe everyone can write and that we all have stories to tell. As an instructor, I create a safe space for these often powerful and deeply personal expressions.
My column
Follow Along
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Want a Residency at Ragdale?
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Reading at the Zephyr Theatre!
I'm so pleased to be reading at the Zephyr Theatre in Stillwater, Minnesota on Sunday, June 27th after the long quiet of the pandemic. This outdoor event features eight writers: Heidi Barr, KateLynn Hibbard, Morgan Grayce Willow, Rondi Atkin, Rita Schweiss, Jim...