KATHLEEN ANNE SHEEDER BONANNO

Today I lost a friend I never met But I knew her. We have common ground. Before finding her and reaching out I imagined the kinship we would have: Her--ultra liberal, Unitarian Universalist Me--uber conservative, evangelical Calvinist Her--Klonopin weighted Me--Wellbutrin lightened Her--poetic and published Me--striving and stalled Our mutual friend Google told me of her death. My hopes for a sisterhood of seasoned sorrow Expire, Like realizing my Mrs. Dash "use by" date is Long past. Like...

Ms. Sheeder was one of my favorite teachers. She once wrote a lovely note on an essay I wrote in high school that ended with the quip, "but you don´t have even a passing acquaintance with the semicolon." It´s was true. I still think that´s so funny. Kathleen was such a great teacher. She is always on my mind. I wanted to become a better writer so badly and she was there for me. She allowed me to hand in papers early to get "free" feedback. Junior year she had the foresight to force us to...

It's funny that I was just thinking of you and this popped up on my email. Rest in peace my friend xoxox

I just finished rereading Kathleen's Slamming Open the Door for only the second time in nearly a decade, so keen and powerful was the writing. I was surprised and saddened to learn about her recent passing. I wanted to write an email to Kathleen thanking her for her uncanny ability to read my mind and know my emotions exactly. My sister was murdered in 1984 and few people can understand what it is like to lose a loved one to a violent, tragic death. Kathleen understood this precisely and was...

I taught Kathleen's book on a number of occasions to my undergraduate students. Its lean, honest, confrontational, loving poems moved them like no other. In one class, we even read the entire book out loud to each other. I never had the luck to meet Kathleen, but I felt I knew her--a part of her at least--via her poems. Just today, I suggested a woman poet whose child died read Slamming Open the Door. I came to the internet to find some poems to copy for her--and stumbled upon Kathleen's...

My prayers go out to David, his and the Sheeder family. Kathy was a wonderful, caring individual. I will miss her!
Carole