Barbara Sher Tinsley

And Sometimes, Dreaming . . . Barbara Sher Tinsley

Born in l938, Barbara Sher Tinsley grew up in Gloversville, New York. Taken to the movies on Saturdays after age four, there she learned about World War II's horror "stories" and in family conversations. Some family members had immigrated from Poland and Russia.

In the l940s, many movies were musicals. Her mother sang and Barbara learned to love those songs. At five, she began piano lessons and began reading. She could distinguish instrumental sounds from each other, which was important for subsequent poetic efforts, begun at age eight or nine.

She wed poetry with feature writing for her high school newspaper in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Two of her works written when she was 16 are included in this book (Nos. 10 and 14). She was her class salutatorian.

Intrigued by history, languages (French, Spanish, and later Italian and German), Barbara made many trips abroad. Two years of family life in Paris, Florence, and Southern Spain) improved her language skills. (Nos. 56, 7, 15, 29, 42, 63, 115)

Nothing could have made a larger imprint on her poetry than a solid foundation in the humanities. The author earned a B. A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A Woodrow Wilson fellowship took her to Cal, Berkeley. After the birth of two children (punctuated by many solo trips to Europe, and prolonged residence abroad with her family), Barbara finally completed her Ph. D. at Stanford, and then received a Fulbright Fellowship to Strasbourg, France.

She has written four European history books; a novel on Italian art history, love, and tragedy; and four previous poetry books published by SBPRA.

The author has lived for many years in Los Gatos, California, in the Bay Area.