About the Writer

Sue Twiggs

Susan Schwartz Twiggs was born in Bay City, MI, and has lived in the Midwest most of her life. Following a stable upbringing, she traveled throughout the world.  As an exchange student in a small village in central France, she became fluent in French at age 16. Eight years later, she backpacked around the world with her husband, John. They raised two sons together. Susan holds a Masters in Social Work and co-owned an outpatient mental health clinic. Sue worked as a psychotherapist with children and families. She also taught Kripalu yoga and owned a yoga studio. She wrote as a child and began publishing poetry in 1999 in the British magazine, Kindred Spirit. In 1997 she began writing for children. She is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) and the Critique Group Manuscript Coordinator of the WI chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers (SCBWI). Susan continues to live in central Wisconsin and also enjoys summers in the Northwoods watching sunsets. When winter winds blow, she migrates to Scottsdale, Arizona known for cactus, coyotes, and Western culture. She enjoys writing about the natural beings she observes. In her writing for children, she hopes to inspire them to follow their dreams.

Susan Schwartz Twiggs was born in Bay City, MI, and has lived in the Midwest most of her life. Following a stable upbringing, she traveled throughout the world.  As an exchange student in a small village in central France, she became fluent in French at age 16. Eight years later, she backpacked around the world with her husband, John. They raised two sons together.

Susan holds a Masters in Social Work and co-owned an outpatient mental health clinic. Sue worked as a psychotherapist with children and families. She also taught Kripalu yoga and owned a yoga studio. She wrote as a child and began publishing poetry in 1999 in the British magazine, Kindred Spirit. In 1997 she began writing for children. She is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) and the Critique Group Manuscript Coordinator of the WI chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers (SCBWI).

Susan continues to live in central Wisconsin and also enjoys summers in the Northwoods watching sunsets. When winter winds blow, she migrates to Scottsdale, Arizona known for cactus, coyotes, and Western culture. She enjoys writing about the natural beings she observes. In her writing for children, she hopes to inspire them to follow their dreams.

Publications

Her poems are found in Avocet, Bramble, Farrago, Free Verse, Fox Cry Review, Highlight High Five, Midwest Poetry Review, North Coast Review, Red Cedar, and in the yearly Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar. Anthologies include: the Ariel Anthology and Leaves of Peace: an anthology of poetry.

Her poems were exhibited with photographs by John Twiggs in the online exhibition Muse 5 and in two previous The Artist’s Muse: Wisconsin Artists-Wisconsin Poets exhibits in Woodruff, WI. She was honored to collaborate with artists Christine Alfery and Jean Lukens.

She has participated in social action events. The online zine and exhibit Project Vividly at the Michael Kohler Arts Center raised funds for mental health, and the Bards against Hunger Wisconsin Edition raised funds for food pantries and homeless shelters.  

Awards

Susan won a first-place award for her invocational poem for the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. She also won a Members Choice award for her poem in the exhibit TRACE-Art and Poetry Collaborative produced by the Center for the Visual Arts with the collage artist Robin O’Flynn.
2022 Halloweensie Writing Contest Award

My Dreadfully Dangerous Walk

Play practice runs late.
Goblins gone,
sorting sweet treats inside.
I careen down the slithery street,
my heels tapping the icy pavers.
Another sound echoes.
CLICK CLACK, click clack.
It’s in your mind, I insist.
Stop scaring yourself.
I push down the rising bile of fear.
CLICK CLACK, click clack.
I stop and the trailing steps stop—
until they don’t.
Click-clack.
I am being followed.
Shivering from sweat,
I quicken my pace.
The streetlamp flickers,
then sputters out.
Can I make it home
or will I disappear into a blind alley?
My key clicks.
Home at last,
deadbolt secured.

Image
(Photo Credit: John Twiggs)

My Poetry

Please use the link below to visit my Poetry page. There you will find samples from some of my published work.
Read Poetry Samples