Newsletter sign up

Be the first to know when new American Life in Poetry columns are live.

Kelly Madigan

Lincoln, Nebraska

Kelly Madigan is a poet, an essayist, and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. She is the author of a book of nonfiction prose, Getting Sober: A Practical Guide to Making It Through the First 30 Days (2007), and a collection of poetry, The Edge of Known Things (2013). Her poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared widely, in publications such as Prairie Schooner, Crazyhorse, and Barrow Street, and her poetry has been featured on The Writer’s Almanac. Her chapbook, Born in the House of Love, won a Main-Traveled Roads Award.

Madigan’s honors and awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Distinguished Artist Award in Literature from the Nebraska Arts Council, and residences at Jentel, Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.

In addition to her work at Bryan Independence Center, a hospital-based treatment center in Lincoln, Nebraska, Madigan is an active presenter at writing workshops, lecture series, schools, and conferences and training events for health professionals.

Column 638

Porcupine