Goodman, Henrietta 1970–

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Goodman, Henrietta 1970–

PERSONAL:

Born 1970; married twice (divorced twice); children: two. Education: Holds an M.A.; University of Montana, M.F.A.

CAREER:

Poet, writer, and educator. University of Montana, Missoula, adjunct assistant professor, 2001—, writing center tutor and coordinator, 2003—. Marjorie Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency, 2002.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Individual Artist Fellowship, Montana Arts Council, 2001; Beatrice Hawley Award, Alice James Books, 2007, for Take What You Want.

WRITINGS:

Take What You Want (poetry), Alice James Books (Farmington, ME), 2007.

Contributor of poetry to periodicals, including Mid-American Review, Willow Springs, Runes: A Review of Poetry, and Northwest Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

In her first book of poetry, titled Take What You Want, Henrietta Goodman covers a wide range of issues from familial and sexual love to motherhood. Many of the poems incorporate aspects of fairy tales, dreams, and animal life. For example, the narrator of several poems is Gretel, the young female protagonist in the Germanic fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel." Goodman's Gretel, however, is now an older, wiser woman. In one poem, Gretel recalls the mistake she and Hansel made when they mistook the smoke from the witch's chimney as smoke from their own home. Some of the poems are reflections on love lost, such as "Farewell Note in Czech." Overall, the collection of poems represents twelve years of work by the author. In an interview on the Every Other Day Web site, Goodman discussed the how feedback from one of her students impacted the manuscript for Take What You Want: "I was able to begin revising in a way I'd never done before. I gained perspective on the manuscript, saw it as a whole, with themes that needed more exploration, and weak spots that needed to be cut." Referring to the debut book of poetry as "impressive," Library Journal contributor Sue Russell felt that "readers will look forward to witnessing the transformations to come in Goodman's future work."