Shepherd, Margaret

PERSONAL: Born in Ames, IA. Education: Sarah Lawrence College, B.A., 1969; Simmons College, M.L.S., 1977.

ADDRESSES: Home—267 Clarendon St., Boston, MA 02116. Agent—Colleen Mohyde, The Doe Coover Agency, P.O. Box 668, Winchester, MA 01890. E-mail—shepherdscribe@yahoo.com.

CAREER: Writer and calligrapher. Worked variously as a teacher: Boston University School for the Arts, 1998; Boston Arts Academy, Gothic Calligraphy, 2001, and designer of their new three-year book-arts program; Rhode Island School of Design, two summer sessions; researcher; freelance calligrapher for projects including, the lettering on diplomas for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, classical Greek ceiling inscriptions at Boston College, and various honorary degrees and retirement scrolls. Regularly serves as a guest lecturer and artist-in-residence. Exhibitions: Exhibits of calligraphy include the Boston Public Library Rare Books Department and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, NY, 1970–2000; "A Boston Calligraphy Discovery," Boston Public Library, 2001; "yes is a word," American Literature Association, 2001; "The Art of the Handwritten Note," Boston Public Library, January, 2002; and the Well-fleet Public Library, Wellfleet, MA, July, 2002.

MEMBER: St. Botolph Club, the Society of Printers, the Saturday Morning Club, The Ticknor Society, and Historic Boston's Partnership.

WRITINGS:

Learning Calligraphy: A Book of Lettering, Design, and History, Collier Books (New York, NY), 1977.

Using Calligraphy: A Workbook of Alphabets, Projects, and Techniques, Collier Books (New York, NY), 1979.

Borders for Calligraphy: How to Design a Decorated Page, Collier Books (New York, NY), 1980, revised and expanded edition, 1984.

Capitals for Calligraphy: A Sourcebook of Decorative Letters, Collier Books (New York, NY), 1981.

Calligraphy Made Easy: A Beginner's Workbook, Wideview Books (New York, NY), 1981.

Margaret Shepherd's Calligraphy Projects for Pleasure and Profit, Putnam Books (New York, NY), 1983.

Calligraphy Now: New Light on Traditional Letters, Putnam Books (New York, NY), 1984.

Calligraphy Alphabets Made Easy, Perigee Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Basics of the New Calligraphy, Prentice Hall Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Modern Calligraphy Made Easy: A New Script for Streamlined Lettering, Perigee Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Basics of Left-Handed Calligraphy, Prentice Hall Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Manual of Modern Calligraphy, Bonanza Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Calligraphy for Celebrating Your Wedding, Perigee Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Calligraphy for Celebrating Your Newborn, Perigee Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Learn Calligraphy: The Complete Book of Lettering and Design, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Art of the Handwritten Note: Reclaiming Civilized Communications, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Sharon Hogan) The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself with Style and Grace, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Writer and calligrapher Margaret Shepherd has made a career of writing beautifully and teaching others to do so, as well. Born and raised in Ames, Iowa, Shepherd attended college in Boston and went on to teach high school in prewar Saigon. She has traveled extensively, visiting places such as Cyprus, Turkey, and Uzbekistan in an effort to research the writing styles of other cultures. As a freelance calligrapher, Shepherd has provided decorative handwritten text for the classical Greek ceiling inscriptions at Boston College, countless diplomas for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for numerous scrolls for honorary degrees and retirements. As an expert in the industry, she consulted for the design of a calligraphy preservation spray, has been quoted in Newsweek, and has been interviewed in several publications. Shepherd continues to share her skill and artistry through exhibits of her work and her numerous books. Her calligraphy has been displayed at the Boston Public Library, the American Literature Association, the Hartford Public Library, and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Her published works include many how-to books on calligraphy, including Learn Calligraphy: The Complete Book of Lettering and Design, Using Calligraphy: A Workbook of Alphabets, Projects, and Techniques, and Calligraphy for Celebrating Your Wedding, as well as more general books on the lost arts of letter writing and conversation, such as The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself with Style and Grace, which she wrote with Sharon Hogan. Ann Schade, in a review for Library Journal, remarked that this volume might be "an excellent addition to reference collections."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, December 1, 2005, Ann Schade, review of The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself with Style and Grace, p. 143.

Publishers Weekly, October 31, 2005, review of The Art of Civilized Conversation, p. 47.