Shirley Rickett is a poet and memoirist whose work explores the intersections of personal and historical memory, family, love, and the quiet transformations of daily life. Her poetry collections have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, earning recognition for their emotional depth, lyrical precision, and unflinching honesty.

Shirley was born in Tennessee, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Shirley’s Midwest roots inform much of her work — not just in setting, but in sensibility. There’s a plainspoken quality to her verse, a resistance to pretension, and a deep respect for the stories of ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances. Shirley wrote a steady stream of “Letters to the Editor” to the local newspaper for 20 years while in Texas.

Her most recent collection, Dinner in Oslo , emerged from years of archival research into her family’s experiences during World War II. The project took her across Europe, through dusty archives, and deep into questions about inherited trauma, resilience, and what it means to bear witness to the past.

When she’s not writing, Shirley can be found cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs (a lifelong devotion), spending time with her husband Charles, and being thoroughly charmed by her rescue dog, AllieMo. She’s a proud great-grandmother, a role she describes as “the best plot twist of my life.”