Janet Aalfs
Janet Aalfs | |
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Born | Janet Elizabeth Aalfs August 14, 1956 Elmira, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Hampshire College (BA) Sarah Lawrence College (MFA) |
Occupations |
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Known for | Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts |
Parent | Joann Aalfs |
Janet Elizabeth Aalfs (born August 14, 1956)
Life and work
As a 13-year-old, Aalfs wrote her first poem, and began focusing on her writing practice. Her father (1922–2001), a minister, is credited with teaching Aalfs about the
During her first year at
In 1977, Aalfs began practicing martial arts. She became a member of Valley Women's Martial Arts and created VWMA's Institute for Healing and Violence Prevention Strategies (HAVPS: "have peace"). She is a founding member of the National Women's Martial Arts Federation and co-founder of NWMAF's Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor Certification program.[4] Aalfs, founder and director of Lotus Peace Arts, has served as the director and member of the Leaders Group of VWMA, now Heron's Bridge/VWMA, since 1982.[3][4] She holds an eighth-degree black belt in Shuri-ryū, an eighth-degree black belt in Modern Arnis, and is a Jian Mei Chief Instructor of tai chi and qigong.[5]
Between 2003 and 2005, she served as the poet laureate for Northampton, Massachusetts. In 2013, she received the Leadership and Advocacy in the Arts Award from the Center for Women and Community, University of Massachusetts Amherst.[6]
Further reading
- Works by Janet Aalfs
- with Carol Wiley. Martial Arts Teachers on Teaching. Mumbai: Frog Books (1995). ISBN 1-883319-09-9
- Reach. Florence: Perugia Press (1999). ISBN 0-9660459-2-0
- "Women and the martial arts." Women of Power 3 (1986).
- Bird of a Thousand Eyes. Levellers Press (2010). ISBN 978-0-9819820-3-8
- What the Dead Want Me to Know. Human Error Publishing (2022). ISBN 978-1-948521-73-4
References
- ISBN 978-1857432695.
- ^ a b "Poet Laureate". Northampton Arts Council. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89281-662-0. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-252-03189-2. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ "Martial art classes provide confidence and defense training", masslive.com; accessed January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Bird of a Thousand Eyes". Collective Copies. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
External links
- "Janet Aalfs teaches fifth-graders about the power of words" from the Daily Hampshire Gazette.