About

Rita Coleman photo

Rita Coleman

Rita Coleman is a poet residing in rural Greene County, Ohio. Her first piece, published in her high school newspaper Dragon Tales, was short fiction about a mail call in Vietnam where her brother was stationed at the time. After experiencing the world as a journalist, a racehorse groom, a pre-school teacher, a freelance writer, and as a single mom raising her daughter, Rita completed her degrees at Wright State University. With a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing, she taught writing as a teaching assistant and as an adjunct at Wright State University and at the University of Dayton. Additionally, Rita specialized in poetry workshops for K-6 graders in the Dayton Public Schools and the Greene County Libraries.

Beyond the world of written words, she is a Registered Yoga Teacher and a Floral Designer.

She has specialized in poetry for most of her life with forays into humor, personal narrative, and short fiction. Her publication credits include anthologies, literary journals, arts publications, and poetry books. Rita has numerous award for poetry as well as humor. Her first book of poems, Mystic Connections, was published in 2009. Described in a Kirkus review as “deeply felt,” the book is available on Amazon. Her second poetry book, And Yet, was published in September through Finishing Line Press.

Rita and her husband, Frank Baxley, live a restored farmhouse with their rescue cat, El BK (Spanglish for The Black Kitty).

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