Many talented classroom teachers also find notoriety as authors. One of these is Romaine Washington, a California educator who has earned acclaim as a poet. (Photo credit: www.romainewashington.com)

Many talented classroom teachers also find notoriety as authors. One of these is Romaine Washington, a California educator who has earned acclaim as a poet.

Romaine was born and raised in San Bernardino in Southern California. As a latch key kid afflicted with asthma, she spent many after-school hours reading. And even as a youngster, her gift for poetry earned special attention from her teachers.

As an adult, Romaine earned her Bachelor’s degree in French from California State University, San Bernardino. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. She is a fellow of the Inland Area Writing Project (IAWP), a program that offers teachers additional training in instructional practices for writing sponsored by the University of California, Riverside.

After earning her degrees, Romaine worked as a high school teacher. It was in her first year that she completed the IAWP program. “I was invited back to be a workshop presenter and then a facilitator for the summer program,” she recalled. “For two years, I was poet-in-resident,” she continued. She also accepted a position to teach as an adjunct in the Cultural Language and Diversity Program  at her alma mater, Azusa Pacific. In all, her career as an educator has spanned over 20 years.

Romaine has published two books of poetry, including Sirens in Her Belly (2015) and Purgatory Has An Address, which is due to be released in April of this year. Her work has been published in a wide variety of anthologies and periodicals, including San Bernardino Singing, Lullwater Review, and Cholla Needles. She also contributes to the Inlandia Institute, an organization that offers creative writing classes for adults in the Inland Empire of Southern California. In addition, she has presented her work in a wide variety of venues from National Poetry Slam, National Public Radio, and her local radio station KPFK.

To learn more about Romaine, see her website at  www.romainewashington,com.