Author Talk with Barbara Fant

More about Barbara:

"I have always loved writing poetry, but it became really important to me when I was in high school. My mother passed when I was fifteen and I became an angry teenager. I did not even know how to pray anymore, so I began to write. Poetry became my way of communication, my way of processing, and my way to pray.

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I am originally from Youngstown, OH and I moved to Columbus, OH to go to college. I found an open mic, I decided to get on stage, and I haven't left the stage since. I competed for years in poetry slam and was incredibly blessed. I competed in nine National and World Poetry slams, including five individual competitions and four national poetry slam teams. In 2008, we were named the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam Champions! I placed 8th out of 96 poets in the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam and I am a two-time Rustbelt Indy Finalist.

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In 2010, my first poetry collection was published on Penmanship Books when I was awarded the Cora Craig Award for Young Authors. Since that time, I have also written two chapbooks, both released in 2017. I am a featured artist in the Columbus Makes Art Campaign and Columbus Alive featured me as one of their 2017 People to Watch. I have also been commissioned by over 10 local and national organizations.

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One of my first jobs was teaching poetry in juvenile correctional facilities. That is where my passion resides. I also served at two local fellowships when they were new church starts. My art is and has always been ministry for me. I believe that God saved my life through art, and all I want to do is tour the world helping others by using my gift. I know that art has the power to heal. It saved my life and I want to live a life poured out, serving God, and using this gift to save others.

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Currently, I teach poetry at Transit Arts and serve as an editor fo the Antioch University Los Angeles literary journal, Lunch Ticket."