Cristina M. R. Norcross is a writer and poet
living in Wisconsin with her husband and their two sons. She started her career in the performing arts, studying opera at the Metropolitan Opera House and Carnegie Hall in NYC. Cristina also trained with the New Jersey Ballet Company and was a member of The Pegasus Players musical theatre company. Cristina studied English Literature at the University of Ottawa, Canada. While living in the UK for five years, Cristina worked in the reference and publicity departments at a publishing house in London. She also taught high school level English in North London and worked for a non-profit literacy organization, where she authored a grammar manual. Cristina has had numerous works
published in North American and international literary magazines, such as: The Toronto Quarterly, Red Cedar, Your Daily Poem, The Moon Magazine, Lime Hawk, The Poetry Storehouse, and The Nervous Breakdown, among others. Cristina was published in the anthologies: Contemporary Women's Literature (2007), Verse and Vision (2011, 2012), Sounds of Solace (2013), A Touch of Saccharine (2014), The Ariel Anthology (2014), and Twice Upon a Time (forthcoming). She has studied with NPR host and Harvard instructor, Nancy Aronie. Cristina was a member of the winter writers' series at the Featherstone Center for the Arts on Martha's Vineyard (2000-01). She attended the Star Island (NH) Retreat for poets and songwriters for 2 years. Cristina has appeared as a special guest on the program Writers in the Round on
NH public radio 106.1 FM. She is
the author of Land & Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art (2007), The Red Drum
(2008, 2013), Unsung Love Songs
(2010), The Lava Storyteller (2013) and Living Nature's Moments: A Conversation Between Poetry and Photography (2014) with co-author, Patricia Bashford. Cristina was the co-editor
of the collaborative project, One Vision: A Fusion of Art and Poetry in Lake
Country (2009-11) and also the co-organizer of the music/poetry/art open mic event, PAAC'd with Talent. Cristina is currently one of the organizers for Random Acts of Poetry & Art Day (Feb. 20th - see the facebook group page HERE). She is a regular open mic poetry host, arts event coordinator and teaches poetry workshops in WI. Cristina is the founding editor of the online poetry magazine, Blue Heron Review.
*Semi-finalist in the 2015 Concrete Wolf Chapbook Competition.
*Finalist in the 2015 Five Oaks Press Chapbook Contest.
MEMBER OF:
Pewaukee Area Arts Council (PAAC)
Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP)
Council for Wisconsin Writers
Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)
Council for Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP)