Holli Quinn

Biography

My daughter, Tara, graduated from Eastern University in May 2009 with a BA in Creative Writing and a minor in Drama. My son, Austin, is a junior at Lafayette College where he is an English Literature major. We have a beautiful, fat, spoiled yellow Labrador Retriever named, Rachel.

An annual trip to St. Maarten gets me to the beach in the off season. Many of my summer weekends are spent at the Jersey Shore. Frequent weekends are spent in New Hope enjoying both the art culture and the cuisine. Though I’m not very talented in the fine arts, I have produced some interesting tiles and mosaics at the Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown.

In the early 1980s, I modeled clothing for a store in the Lycoming Mall in Muncy, PA. After a brief stint as a model, I decided I did not like other people putting me in clothing I would never choose to wear personally. It is a decision I have never regretted.

From 1984-86, I worked as a co-host of a local cable access television show, “Focus on Cable” which then was Lower Bucks Cablevision and is now Comcast. I scripted my own scenes, interviewed locals, and promoted the fantastic world of cable television-- frequently as a talking head, the style so prominent in the 80s. I left that fantastic world when I gave birth to my daughter. My last day of work was a Friday, and Tara was born that Sunday.

I was the featured poet on Berks County Television’s, “Poet’s Pause,” in the early 90s. Most of the poems I read were from a collection entitled, “Fishing,” which I presented in a reading at Café Ariel in Doylestown as well. That same year I was asked to speak on censorship at Robin’s Bookstore on S. 13th Street in Philadelphia for a conference called, “Women’s Ink.” Part of my censorship speech (was I for or against, you’ll have to guess) included a poem, “Beijing Boy,” I had written about the student riots in Tiananmen Square. A year earlier I had attended a conference called, “Philadelphia Ink,” where authors were invited for book signings. The book of mine that was featured was Sacrificial Offerings, a long narrative poem published by Merrimack Books, Lynn, IN. I didn’t sell one copy (even though my husband offered to buy out the store); however, “Philadelphia Ink” resulted in an interesting opportunity presented by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book which hosted the event. I scripted and “starred” in a dramatic performance which was taped and entitled, “Variation on a Theme.” This work featured original poems, short stories, and photography of mine and was sent to the Pennsylvania Cable Network. (I think the video is just deteriorating on a shelf there.) These were opportunities I took while my children were young and before I returned to school to complete my graduate degrees.

Today, I continue to write poetry, which is a passion of mine; however, I no longer actively pursue publication.