Martha Clarkson manages corporate workplace design in Seattle. Her poetry and fiction can be found in Clackamas Literary Review, elimae, monkeybicycle6, Nimrod, Portland Review, and Seattle Review. She is a recipient of a Washington State Poets William Stafford prize for 2005, a Pushcart nomination, and is listed under “Notable Stories,” Best American Non-Required Reading for 2007 and 2009. Her website is www.marthaclarkson.com.

In answer to our question of why she writes, Martha responded:

“Well, you can do dishes or write. You can vacuum or write. When you start to do housework instead of writing, and you realize it, that’ll make you write. But really, it’s like exercise—does once a week help you? It’s like scales on the piano—does not doing them help? Carve out an hour. Each day. Just do it. I’m not Nike, but just do it.”

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