Patti Marxsen began her writing career over 25 years ago as an art critic and culture journalist for The Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky) and The Camden Herald (Maine). Since then,
Her articles, essays, interviews, commentaries, and reviews have appeared in nearly 50 publications in the USA,France, and Switzerland ... including The Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, The New England Antiques Journal, The Journal of Haitian Studies, The French Review, the Caribbean Writer, Fourth Genre, Absinthe, the Women's Review of Books, Prairie Schooner, Saisons d'Alsace, and Offshoots, the literary journal of the Geneva Writers Group. Marxsen has been a consultant--The Write Woman--and managed communications for several non-profit educational and cultural organizations in New England. During her seven years as publication manager for the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century--now the Ikeda Center Center for Peace, Learning, & Dialogue--she directed the development of multi-author academic books, including "Educating Citizens for Global Awareness," edited by Nel Noddings (2005), and "Ethical Visions of Education: Philosophies in Practice" edited by David T. Hansen (2007), both published by Teachers College Press.
A former French teacher, Marxsen’s fiction and creative non-fiction often focuses on the art, literature, and culture of the Francophone world... especially since moving to Switzerland in 2007. Her books include a collection of travel essays about islands with French connections that appeared in 2008: "Island Journeys: Exploring the Legacy of France" (ALondra Press). In 2010, she completed the translation a biography of Albert Schweitzer by Jo and Walter Munz, "Albert Schweitzer's Lambarene - A Legacy of Humanity for Our World Today." Her short story collection, "Tales from the Heart of Haiti" was also published in March of 2010 by America's premier Haitian-American publishing firm, Educa Vision.
Patti Marxsen's biography of Albert Schweitzer's wife, "Helene Schweitzer: A Life of Her Own," will be published by Syracuse University Press in 2015. Also in 2015, her translation of C. F. Ramuz's 70-page prose poem will appear as "Riversong of the Rhone," published by Onesuch Press.