In Memoriam
After studying a dual major in Biology and Chemistry at the University of Colorado in the 1970s, Bell worked for many years as a pharmaceutical chemist in Denver. Then, she threw away the beakers, gas chromatographs and titrations so she could move to Colorado’s Western Slope where she now lives with her husband, Orlyn. Since the move, her life has been filled with grassy pastures, horses, hay fields, blackbirds, and writing. Leaving the pristine predictability of chemistry for the gritty life of writing and living with the rhythms of the land and seasons has been, for her, like leaving her left arm behind and finding her right.
She co-founded the Glenwood Springs, Colorado Writer’s Workshop with Karen Chamberlain in 1999 and continues as co-facilitator. She also completed a BA in English With a Writing Emphasis at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado in 2002 and offers readings and conducts writing workshops at various venues.
Her writing is guided by a need to understand complex issues and by her perception of the world as a place of infinite beauty and erratic demands. Her poetry and short stories can be found in various publications including Hard Roe to Hoe, Mad Blood, Inklings, Literary Review, Mountain Gazette, and Marginalia. Her poetry has also appeared in several anthologies including The Geography of Hope: Poets of Colorado’s Western Slope, The 2002 Emily Dickinson Awards Anthology, and Open Windows 2005 and 2006.
