Terry Wolverton

Terry Wolverton
Terry Wolverton speaking at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, Los Angeles.
Born	(1954-08-23) August 23, 1954 (age 62) Cocoa Beach, Florida
Education	University of Detroit; University of Toronto; Thomas Jefferson College
Genre	Poetry; Fiction; Creative Nonfiction
Subject	Feminism
Literary movement	Writers at Work

Terry Wolverton (born 1954) is an American novelist, memoirist, poet, and editor. Her book Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman’s Building, a memoir published in 2002 by City Lights Books, was named one of the “Best Books of 2002” by the Los Angeles Times, and was the winner of the 2003 Publishing TriangleJudy Grahn Award, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her novel-in-poems Embers was a finalist for the PEN USA Litfest Poetry Award and the Lambda Book Award.

Born August 23, 1954 in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Wolverton grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Her grandmother, Elsba Mae Miller, a former English teacher, would often read and recite poetry to her, and Wolverton credits this for inspiring her love of language. Even as a child Wolverton was interested in the arts, especially writing, music, and drama; she graduated from the Performing Arts curriculum of Cass Technical High School in 1972.

Terry Wolverton attended the University of Detroit as a student in its BFA Theatre Program. In 1973, she transferred to the University of Toronto, majoring in Theatre, Psychology, and Women's Studies.

Wolverton participated in Sagaris, an independent institute for the study of feminist political theory, in 1975. She next enrolled in Thomas Jefferson College, an experimental school based at Grand Valley State Colleges in Western Michigan, and participated in its feminist Women, World, and Wonder program.

Wolverton moved to Los Angeles in 1976, enrolling in the Feminist Studio Workshop at the Woman's Building. She spent the next thirteen years at the Woman's Building where, in addition to writing and performing, she was also instrumental in the Lesbian Art Project, the Incest Awareness Project, the Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS), and a White Women's Anti-Racism Consciousness-Raising Group. From 1987-88, she served as the nonprofit organization's Executive Director.