Rabbit Dancing: A Poetry Memoir (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781495355370)

Freeda Richardson was born in Tennessee but spent fourteen years growing up in Michigan with her parents and three siblings, Chuck, Dan, and Beverly. Her family then lived in Kentucky, Iowa, and Texas where her father sold Dickson Bibles and wrote sermons for Sundays. Her mother, gracious and innovative, made homes of parsonages wherever they lived. Family and faith were of utmost value. Books in a barrister's bookcase were prized and supplemented by weekly trips to the library. It was inevitable for her to live a life of words. Freeda moved with John to Oklahoma after their marriage in 1967. She finished her bachelor's and master's degrees in English at the University of Oklahoma after their children Matthew and Laura were in school. In 1984 she began teaching English and Creative Writing I and II and later helped develop the Advanced Placement English Language program for Norman High School. For 22 years, Freeda sponsored the publication of a literary anthology, SOUPSTONE. Since 1987, Freeda has been a Teacher Consultant for the Oklahoma Writing Project, where she discovered the most effective strategies for writing and teaching writing. A student advocate, she was passionate about finding ways for students to become more confident writers and readers. Retired now, Freeda collaborates with Ellie, Amy Kate, Franklin, and Olivia to tell and write stories when they visit. A cancer survivor, she volunteers at Norman Regional Hospital in the Cancer Survivor Resource Center. Freeda Richardson is passionate about the power of stories and poems to transform us into becoming more compassionate and intuitive. Our stories show that we are more alike than we are different. Our stories matter.