Kate
Buckley, a ninth-generation Kentuckian, was educated
at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and
the University of Kentucky. She holds an MFA in Writing
from Spalding University, and has served as the Executive
Vice President of Castello Cities Internet Network (CCIN)
since 1998.
Kate's poems have appeared in variety
of journals including: Bellingham Review, The Cafe
Review, The Heartland Review, New Southerner, North
American Review, Shenandoah, Slipstream and Spillway,
and in a number of anthologies. She's the author of
A Wild Region
(Moon Tide Press, 2008) and Follow
Me Down (Tebot Bach, 2009).
Honors & awards include: 2007 Gabehart Prize for
Imaginative Writing for poetry, the 2008 North American
Review's James Hearst Poetry Prize, selected by
Molly Peacock, the 2008 Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize
(2nd place & finalist), the 2008 Bellingham Review's
The 49th Parallel Award in Poetry (Runner Up), the 2008
New Southerner Literary Contest (finalist), the
2008 Atlanta Review's International Poetry Competition
(finalist), and the 2008 Ruskin Poetry Award from Red
Hen Press (shortlisted). Kate is also a three-time Pushcart
Prize nominee.
Kate has served as co-facilitator of
Laguna Poets, founder of Women Poets of Laguna, and
conducts workshops in and around Laguna Beach, including
workshops for the Orange County Writers Group. She is
also available for one-on-one poetry mentoring. Kate
has volunteered extensively, including working with
young readers at the Laguna Beach Boys and Girls Club.
She served as poet of occasion at the
2009 Laguna Beach Presidential Inaugural Gala and judge
for the annual Laguna Beach Library Poetry Contest.
She is also an accomplished artist whose paintings
have been published in journals such as The Adirondack
Review and New Southerner, and purchased
by such entities as The American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (Board of Directors Invitation, 2005),
as well as privately collected. Her paintings
are available for purchase; she occasionally accepts
commissions. She lives in a cottage by the sea in Laguna
Beach with her dog, Murphy.