(note that the "1" that appears twice in the address is the number "one" and not an "el"). A few selected poems from the book can be seen here.
Marilyn Shea Biography
Marilyn Bullock Shea was born in 1937 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was a graduate of Cedar Crest College, where she began writing poetry. She worked several years as a newspaper reporter for the Allentown Morning Call and the Anchorage Times.
Marilyn married her husband, Jim, in 1959; they made their first home in Anchorage, Alaska. They subsequently lived in Columbus, Georgia and Allentown, Pennsylvania. They relocated to Castro Valley, California in 1967. Her three sons were born in 1960, 1963, and 1969.
She began writing poetry for publication in the early 1970s. She was
awarded 1st prize in the 1975 International Contest on a Bicentennial Theme,
conducted by Poets and Patrons, Inc., Poets Club of Chicago with her poem,
"Looking Down the Road at Lexington." In 1976, she and two colleagues,
Elizabeth Harrod and Carol Smith, collaborated in the publication of a collection
of their poems, entitled Peeling the Zebras. In 1987 her poem, "The
Painter," won first place in the John Williams Andrews contest for
narrative poetry, conducted by Poet Lore. The Rhysling Anthology
republished her poem, "OM," as one of the nominees for "Best
Science Fiction Poetry of 1987." In 1988 "The Abbey at Bath"
received 2nd Honorable Mention, Eugene Smith Sonnet Awards, sponsored by
Amelia. She was selected to participate in the 1990 Squaw Valley
Writers Workshop. Jim compiled and self-published a book containing her
published poems and some additional unpublished poems in June of 2001. Copies
of her book, entitled "Looking for Clara" are available.
E-mail Jim for information at
(note that the "1" that appears twice in the address is
the number "one" and not an "el"). A few selected poems
from the book can be seen here.
Marilyn also worked as a copy editor for the Hayward Daily Review between 1976 and 1987. Subsequently, she volunteered as a docent at the Sunol Regional Wilderness, assisting in the teaching of school groups about nature and the lives of the Native Americans and the pioneers in the Sunol area. As a special project she undertook a resource inventory survey of the butterflies found in the park. She identified and photographically documented 50 species that are found there. The East Bay Regional Parks dedicated a butterfly garden in the Sunol park to her memory in November 2001.
Marilyn Shea died on February 6, 2000 after a 10-month battle with cancer. She was 62.
Marilyn on the trail to Thuya Gardens on Mt. Desert Island, ME in June of 1998.
