About
Hello! I'm Karen Schnurstein, a North American poet and writer. (Quickley is my literary pseudonym.) You can find my work in The Ibis Head Review, Adelaide Literary Magazine, Bi Women Quarterly, The Looking Glass Review, Encore Magazine, Northwest Indiana Literary Journal, October Hill Magazine, New English Review, Wyldcraft Literary Journal, Academy of the Heart and Mind, The Wise Owl, and DarkWinter Magazine. My poetry has also appeared in Canadian journals Halcyon Days and Founder's Favourites; U.K.-based Steel Jackdaw and t'ART; and Ireland's The Galway Review. In December, I finally published my first poetry chapbook "The Beautiful Thing" (KDP 2024). It's a body of ekphrastic work on a theme of romantic love. It's whimsical, imaginative, and distinctive. Visit here for more information.
My early poetry (1993-1998) has appeared in Rat's Ass Review, The Dawn Review, New Feathers Anthology, Hare's Paw Literary Journal, 100 Subtexts Magazine, and Poetry Super Highway. Folly Journal (New Zealand) longlisted my college poem "Little Brown Girl" in a 2023 contest, and The Dawn Review nominated my early poem "Safely Tonight, or Every Woman's Blues" for the 2023 Best of the Net Anthology. Additionally, New Feathers Anthology designated my college poem "The Phone Call" first runner up for their 2023 award.
I hold a B.A. in Creative Writing with a minor in World Literature from Western Michigan University, where I had the pleasure of studying with Nancy Eimers, Jaimy Gordon, and Mark Halliday. I owe much of my literary life to my high school Language Arts instructor, Louise Garcia Harrison; however, scholar, writer, and poet Mark Richardson was my first literature professor. Louise gave the key, and Mark opened the door.
Like the poet Theodore Roethke, I was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. I spent much of my adolescence in the dressing and green rooms and wings (and on the stage) of Pit and Balcony, Saginaw's community theater. A Michigander for most of my life, I have also lived in San Francisco. Now my two pussycats and I enjoy living close to Lake Erie in the Cleveland, Ohio area.
Want to learn even more about me and my writing?
Read my interviews in The Dawn Review and The Looking Glass Review, or view all of my poems published over the years in Bi Women Quarterly.
Additionally, I invite you to subscribe--for free--to my Substack "A Poet in Love." This public diary follows my literary path and related personal developments. I promise it's not boring! Find it here. Below is a preview of my landing page. Enjoy!