Mary Julia Klimenko was born 28 August 1946 in Vallejo, California and began writing poetry more than forty years ago. She earned a B.A. and M.A. degrees in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and taught creative writing there from 1983 to 1986. She founded the Benicia Writers’ Guild in 1985 and served as its director until 1987. In 1986, she returned to college at the University of San Francisco where she earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed California marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, specializing in individuation, creativity, and development of the self. She has been in private practice since 1991.
Mary Julia Klimenko’s poems have been published in various literary journals and in a series of artists’ book collaborations. She has twice received the Browning Society’s award for dramatic monologue. Klimenko has given numerous workshops, readings, and talks on the interface of poetry, collaboration, and the creative process including: Boston University; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Galerie Claude Samuel, Paris; Iowa State University, Ames; Mills College, Oakland, CA; San Diego Museum of Art; Orange County Museum of Art; and Palm Springs Desert Museum.
