Lianne Spidel grew up in Detroit, daughter of an automotive artist to whom her chapbook of art poems, Chrome, is dedicated. A retired high school English teacher, she is a graduate of Wittenberg University and of the University of Michigan Rackham School. Her other books are Pairings, a chapbook of art and poetry with Michigan artist Ann Loveland, and What to Tell Joseme, for which she was named Ohio Poet of the Year, 2013.

Books by Lianne Spidel:

Other poems on the web by Lianne Spidel:
"16mm Movie: Melbourne, Florida, 1938"
Three poems
"Ambassador Bridge"
"Mustachio"
"Homeland in an Old War"

About Bird in the Hand:

"Looking at the typical photo album is tedious—all those grinning groups. But what if, instead, each picture were a jewel, a snapshot of an instant, shining or sunk in shadow? Then it would be Lianne Spidel’s Bird in the Hand. I worry a little that Spidel’s ability to combine music and insight, humor and heartbreak will so delight readers that they overlook the skill behind the apparently effortless surface."
—Susan Blackwell Ramsey

"Lianne Spidel’s Bird In The Hand is a poetic memoir that succeeds on both scores. The poems stand alone on very solid footing. They are vivid sketches, drawn from memory with an almost eerie feel of accuracy. The poet’s voice is unashamedly personal, but never yields to sentiment or nostalgia. Her poems celebrate teachers and nurturers—family ties abound. As a collection, these evocative poems take on strength in context. Each 'walk in the shoes' of a bright American woman reveals a bit more about where we’ve been, what we’ve been through. The result is a deeper view of a not-often studied wedge of our recent history. A rewarding read on all levels."
—Bucky Ignatius