Author and poet Kathryn Carole Ellison's nine beautiful books of poetry
are a result of a lifetime of writing--first as a journalist. Then,
because she had some life lessons to share with her children, she chose
poetry as a means of communicating. Her books--Celebrations,
Heartstrings, Inspirations, Sanctuary, Awakenings, Sojourns, Gratitude,
Tapestry, Milestones, Beginnings, Horizons and Moments--contain poems
from a collection written over a span of 43 years. The "Poems of Life
and Love" are as fresh and relevant today as they were when she first
wrote them. She has also created a Journal titled Gifts of Life and
Love. Ellison began writing poetry for her children in the 1970s when
they were reaching the "age of reason," and she was leaving an abusive
marriage, becoming a single parent, and overcoming alcohol addiction.
She wanted to share "life's lessons" and "words of wisdom" with her
them. Poetry was her way to communicate with her teenage children to
help them make good decisions in life, without a barrage of words and
lectures that would fall on deaf ears. And so, the Advent Poems began.
Ellison gave her children one new poem a day during Advent, along with a
trinket. More than 40 years later, her grown children still look forward
to each Advent season to receiving her poems. In total, Ellison has
penned more than 600 inspirational and wisdom-filled poems for living a
more joy-filled life and overcoming every-day challenges. After
Ellison's second husband died of Alzheimer's disease in 2008, she
decided it was time to share her poetry with the world. In 2014, at the
age of 75, she started a business and began the journey into the world
of publishing and fulfilling her life's purpose. Ellison wants to share
the message that it's never too late to pursue one's dreams. She
believes the philosophy that "you can be old at 30, or young at
90"--that it's all up to us. And she believes there is no better time
than now to share the poems with the world at large. The present, broken
world needs some good-old fashioned lessons in kindness, civility and
common sense.
