Laura Schulkind

Laura is a free verse poet also obsessed with sonnets. She has two chapbooks with Finishing Line Press, Lost in Tall Grass (2014) and The Long Arc of Grief (2019) and her sonnet Palo Colorado Fire, Big Sur 2022 won the 2023 Maria W. Faust Top Four prize. She also has numerous journal publications, most recently in Existere, Off the Coast, Phoenix, Brushfire and Perceptions Magazine.  Laura also serves on the board of the Henry Miller Memorial Library, where she created and co-hosted Lines Online, a 2020 virtual poetry series. By design, the series presented a monthly gathering of poets from widely different backgrounds, experiences and identities—thus, providing space to enjoy the beauty that can emerge from an inclusive and curious world. Laura also co-edited the anthology that followed, published by the Henry Miller Library.

Laura is also a (semi-retired) lawyer, having attended law school on an NYU scholarship for those with a demonstrated commitment to public service through law. Growing from  her deep belief in the importance of an excellent, free, public education for all, she has devoted her career to supporting public school and community college districts throughout California. In particular, she developed a statewide practice assisting community colleges build diverse and inclusive workforces, and she has trained thousands of educators on DEI practices.

Lawyer that she is, Laura writes poetry because she believes in the power of a well-told story. However, in law she is entrusted with others’ stories. Through poetry, she tells her own. Her published work, along with musing on why lawyer-poet isn’t an oxymoron can be found on her website: www.lauraschulkind.com.