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Mary L. Zachmeyer’s life seems full of things unfinished. She began college late, then quit because she had three of her five children enrolled in college. Soon, she and her husband were transferred to Mexico, then Germany. Once back in the U.S., she enrolled in more classes, hoping to finally get her degree. But that was interrupted when her husband died a few years later. Now at the age of 66, she wonders if a degree would help her writing.
Mary began writing professionally at the age of 52, upon their return to the States in 1993. All her life, she’d done crafts and sewing for the family, being a stay-at-home mom. She was active in her church everywhere they lived and took lots of college courses. Mary held various jobs, from youth bowling instructor to reporter for a newspaper in Iowa. But she never believed she had talent enough for professional writing.
While living in Mexico and Germany in the 1980s and 1990s, her journal-letters sent to 100 friends and acquaintances all over the world received compliments beyond her imagination. Her writing practice over the years had only been letters to her family.
Once back in the United States, she decided to start submitting her work. She’s had short fiction published by the Nebraska Center for the Book. Countless poems and articles have been published by Midwest Poetry Review, Once Upon a Time, Lyrical Iowa, Norfolk Daily News, St. Anthony Messenger, Nebraska Review and more. She’s won awards for her writing from WOTA, Nebraska Mothers Assn, Midwest Poetry Review, Missouri State Poetry Society, and others.
Mary in Galesburg
Other contest winners
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