about

 

Kristy Bowen lives and writes in Chicago, where she pens dark poem-ish things, lyric essays, hybrid fiction, and creative lifestyle content for various websites and publications.  She is the author of numerous books, chapbooks, zines, and artists books, including a recent collection of poems, WILD(ISH).  For the past two decades, she's blogged about writing, art, horror films, thrifting, and other miscellany at DULCETLY: NOTES ON A BOOKISH LIFE. She also runs DANCING GIRL PRESS & STUDIO, where she makes and sells all manner of art, books, paper goods and accessories,  Raised in the wilds of northern Illinois, she inhabits a beautiful, but drafty, art deco building near the lake with her cats, her husband, too many books, and a vast collection of thrifted finds--only some of which are haunted. 

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A storyteller whose hybrid work often delves into gothicism, surrealism, the speculative, and the delightfully strange, Bowen issues a regular series of chapbooks, zines, artists' books and video poetry blending text and image. She is the author of sixteen poetry books, including the recent WILD(ISH), RUINPORN, and GRANATA, a darkly sensuous retelling of the Persephone myth. Other recent collections include COLLAPSOLOGIES, AUTOMAGIC, ANIMAL VEGETABLE MONSTER, DARK COUNTRY, FEED, and SEX & VIOLENCE (Black Lawrence Press, 2020).  

Bowen's writing has recently appeared in The Morgue, Grimoire, and Marrow Magazine.  A poem, "house of strays," appeared in the Academy of American Poets' Poem-A Day:365 Poems for Every Occasion anthology. Bowen has read and exhibited her work in a number of galleries, bars, cafes, conferences, academic institutions, and other venues, including the Field Museum of Natural History and the Poetry Foundation. She occasionally facilitates public and private workshops in zine making, bookwrecking, and other paper arts. 

Bowen creates content for a number of publications and websites about design, decor, and DIY. She is a staff writer for House Digest, where she writes regularly about thrifting, vintage design, antiques, and upcycling. She also writes about various lifestyle topics, including writing/visual arts, DIY projects, and entertaining,  for Classpop! Magazine.  Additional articles on everything from horror movies and home improvement to antique ephemera and architecture have appeared at Cozymeal, E-How, Homes.com, Worthpoint, Study.com, Thriftcon, GameRant, and others. 

Since 2004, she has curated a long-running chapbook series devoted to women writers available through DANCING GIRL PRESS & STUDIO. From 2001-2015, she founded/edited the online lit zine wicked alice.  At Columbia College, she was co-founder of The Aesthetics of Research project (2014-2021) that fostered connections between artmaking and libraries through programming, art exhibits, and resource -building across multiple art mediums. 

She holds graduate degrees in literature (MA) and creative writing (MFA) from DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago.