Andrea M. Penner, PhD

Writing is Connection Growth Clarity Grace Work NOW The door is open keep scrolling… About the Author Andrea (Andi) M. Penner, PhD Greetings from New Mexico, my heart’s home. I love this world of landscapes, relationships, and words. After a suburban, southern California childhood, I got a B.A. degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and fell in love with coastal cliffs. Then came a domestic era: marriage, ministry, motherhood, and moving–a time raising two young children in the desert Southwest. Intellectual hunger (twin passions of reading and writing) led to a multi-year graduate school career,  juggling act as parent, teacher, student… to earn a master’s degree in English from Northern Arizona University and PhD from the University of New Mexico. Throughout my study of literature, I drew inspiration from Native American women writers whose poetry and prose informed my understanding of the U.S. Southwest and my place in it. Since leaving my academic career as Associate Professor of English, I have worked in industry, education, consulting, and technical communications. I’m passionate about piecing together my writing, editing, and teaching lives–it all comes down to words.  I’ve published three books of poetry, edited manuscripts for other poets and writers, and am now writing my own memoir. I write from a poet’s sensibilities, an editor’s brain, and a teacher’s heart. In my daily life and writing, I choose reverence, poetry, and spirituality over religious dogma and patriarchal systems. I offer writing workshops on Mindful Editing, Basic Writing Skills, and How to Write Your Own Obituary, sharing my journey of discovery with wisdom and passion, empowering others along the way. My work has appeared in Albuquerque Journal, the Navajo Times, Feminism and Religion, and in literary and academic journals. My second book, Rabbit Sun, Lotus Moon, was a poetry finalist for the 2017 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award. My Substack publication, In Our Own Ink, inspires others to create and live a writing life. Whenever I travel abroad to visit family or attend writing events, returning to brilliant blue sky, Georgia O’Keeffe clouds, and New Mexico’s red chile ristras and green chile enchiladas is as sweet as rich, dark chocolate. And I am home, again. News & Reviews What people say Andi Penner writes the significant moments of her life with intent and purpose, giving them universal meaning. Her memoir appeals to readers and writers as a uniquely Southwest story of a woman rediscovering faith in herself in unexpected ways. Marion Roach Smith author, the memoir project Upcycled is a wonderful collection of poems… filled with playful language that surprises and delights, alongside deep ideas, rooted in the earth and our place on it…. Upcycled manages to capture both praise and worry, the unknon future a source of tension, pulling the poet and the reader forward. Caitlin Elizabeth Jans Founding Editor, Authors Publish Magazine What people read   POETRY Upcycled: Poetry Repurposed (2024) Rabbit Sun, Lotus Moon (2017) When East Was North (2012) PERSONAL PROSE  In Our Own Ink Substack “Solo Pas de Deux,” Persimmon Tree “Your Body Knows Before You Do,” Feminism & Religion PAPERS   Winner of the New Mexico Folklore/Southwest Literature Prize “The Moon is So Far Away: An Interview with Luci Tapahonso,” SAIL: Studies in American Indian Literature    “Aren’t You Wasting Your PhD at a Community College?”  Teaching English in the Two-Year College A Writing Life mindful “Andi Penner is a serious writer who plies her craft with sensitivity and grace. She knows her audience and delivers her story in a form that will cross barriers in age, cultural background, religious experience. [Her memoir] is a non-fiction narrative others will both relate to and embrace.” ~Judith Huge, former Chair, International Women’s Writing Guild creative poetic “Andi’s work is tactile, vulnerable, and powerful; it transports and challenges us in ways that poems seldom do. Her craft is tight, and her imagery is vivid. Her work bears fruit in such beautiful and unexpected ways…. We discover more about it, and ourselves, with every reading.” ~ Jason Splichal and Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Editors, Sky Island Journal Writing Matters: Story of a Manuscript In our own ink Right here, right now, the thing I care most about is writing: mine, yours, other people’s. How we produce it, access it, value it, and share it. And how we get better at communicating our thoughts, raising our voices, and telling our truths. http://andipenner.substack.com How to Connect Use your words! Contact me Contact Get in Touch Phone Number +1-555-555-xxxx Email [email protected] Office Hours (GMT-04:00) Monday — Thursday 10am – 4pm Saturday — 10am – 3pm Sunday — 8pm – 10pm Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form. Name * FirstLast Email *Comment or Message Submit Facebook