BIOGRAPHY

Shannon Riggs has a Master's degree in Professional Writing.  She writes poetry, fiction, essays and articles, and teaches college writing.  Her work has appeared in many magazines including FamilyFun, ByLine, and Writer's Digest's Personal Journaling.  She currently serves as editor of the Victoria Writer's Society literary magazine.  Shannon lives with her US Navy officer husband and their two children in Victoria, Canada. 

Website:  http://shannonriggs.com

Favorite Quote:  "I am large; I contain multitudes,"  —Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

Shannon Riggs quickly draws readers into scenes, and engenders instant intimacy with clear spare writing that is honest, insightful and reflective.  She presents interesting word pictures and vivid descriptions.  Autobiographical in nature without being too revelatory, and well grounded in sense of place and family, Shannon uses personal experience to make poems accessible with easy to understand concepts that are nonetheless layered with significance.  Her conversational tone is a welcome change from modern trend toward "detached" writing.  She stirs the imagination with sharp imagery and sound textures, concise word selections, and imaginative metaphors.   Good use of detail in each scene.  "Hotel Rooms" invites the reader to recall not just the room, but also the trips and the memories they create.   Compelling in its honesty, this poem shares an old twist on how a soul impresses itself on its surroundings, with a fleeting thought very well-captured in a few choice words.  In "Winter Widow in the Woods," the visual similarity between the words "widow" and "window" adds interest, while tree symbolism, assonance, alliteration and nuanced cadences give an overall richness and depth.  "Sunday Mornings on East 45th Street, Brooklyn" is a powerful autobiographical narrative, with well developed characters.  Exceptionally good writing all around.