As a mother, educator and modern poet, Michelle McCloskey-Alicea infuses three things into her life of which she is most passionate: children, family, and writing.  

A native of Philadelphia, she resides in the city she loves with her husband and three children. Michelle’s passion for poetry began in high school. It was an expressive outlet for her. Through mostly rhymed poems, she could express ideas, feelings and worries that were often difficult to share with others. In college, Michelle composed numerous poems based on life experiences, interactions, and emotional struggles. It was a passion, hobby and therapeutic release. 

Yet, as time went on, Michelle found she was writing poetry far less frequently. Life events—births, engagements, marriages, deaths—inspired her to write, but she did not compose poetry as consistently as she once did. But in June of 2008, that changed, as did her life and that of her family's.  Kevin McCloskey was hit by an IED, and only courage, love and a determined will to thrive would help them all survive.

UPROOTED: SEARCHING FOR SERENITY is a four-part collection of poems that courses the experiences of her family being emotionally uprooted by the tragedy of war and their ensuing journey of survival, revelation, and lastly, the search for serenity. This beautfilly evocative collection is capped by Michelle's tribute to her brother and our country's servicemembers and families. 

More About Michelle

Michelle attended Penn State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. An educator for 10 years, she launched her teaching career after earning a Masters degree in Elementary Education at Temple University. Michelle truly loves interacting with children and she finds great joy in working with youth as a soccer coach and educator. Some of her most rewarding experiences have involved teaching children the craft of writing, particularly poetry. She finds it empowering to see children learn to appreciate and understand the nuances of this genre, and exciting when students develop a desire to write expressively, creatively, and with vivid language.

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