Bio in brief: Carol Bly

Last update: December 22, 2007 - 6:22 PM

Family: Born 1930 in Duluth, Minn., to Mildred and Russell McLean; married Robert Bly in 1955, and raised four children (Mary, Bridget, Noah and Micah) in rural Madison, Minn. Moved to St. Paul after the couple were divorced in 1980.

Education: Abbott Academy, Andover, Mass.; Wellesley (Mass.) College.

Career: Taught at the Universities of Minnesota and Iowa, Hamline University, Carleton College and Northland College (Ashland, Wis.) and at summer conferences across the country, including in Oregon, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Nebraska.

Publications: "Backbone" (Milkweed, 1985); "Letters from the Country" (Harper & Row, 1982); "Changing the Bully Who Rules the World" (Milkweed, 1996); "The Passionate Accurate Story" (Milkweed, 1998); "An Adolescent's Christmas: 1944" (Afton Historical Society, 2000); "My Lord Bag of Rice" (Milkweed, 2000); "Beyond the Writers' Workshop" (Anchor, 2001); "Shelter Half" (Holy Cow! June 2008). Also, with Cynthia Loveland: "Three Readings for Republicans and Democrats" (2003), "Stopping the Gallop to Empire" (2004), "A Shout to American Clergy" (2005) and "Against Workshopping Manuscripts" (2006).

Awards/honors: 2001 Minnesota Humanities Award for Literature, 1998-99 University of Minnesota Edelstein-Keller Distinguished Minnesota Author, 2000 Minnesota Women's Press Favorite Woman Author.

Recent Books stories

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Books: 'What French Women Know' - Ah, those French women. A spate of recent books has urged American women to look to them for advice on all kinds of things, from diet to dating, as if we didn't get enough advice, both wise and absurd, right here in know-it-all America. More

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Here are some of Books Editor Laurie Hertzel's favorite sites and blogs. Got a literary link to share? E-mail Laurie.

Twin Cities Literary Scavenger Hunt Home page for the scavenger hunt, which runs now through Dec. 26.
Reading Minnesota A blog that features Minnesota writers, illustrators, publishers, bookstores, and reviewers.
Talk of the Stacks An author series from the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.
Poets & Writers The website for Poets and Writers Magazine--podcasts, author interviews, and writing resources.
Creative Writing A place to keep apprised of writing competitions in the United States.
Gather Minnesota Readers The Website for Minnesota Public Radio's books blog.
The Loft Literary Center The Website for the Loft, a local place for writers and readers.
Good Reads A way to track what you're reading, and what your friends are reading.
Lost Manuscripts Just what it sounds like - a blog (sporadically updated) devoted to missing and destroyed manuscripts.
Maud Newton Very hip, reviews, links, a little attitude.
bookreporter.com A plethora of online book reviews and reading guides.
Rain Taxi Rain Taxi Review of Books.