The Poet and the Poem
2022-23 Series

Featured Vailes Shepperd

Click here for Vailes Shepperd podcast.mp3

Vailes Shepperd has been writing almost from the moment that she learned to read. In first grade, she collaborated with her oldest brother, the Spoken Word Poet, D. Dallas Vailes on a play that was performed for the Petworth Public Elementary School upon graduation. She is one of the founding/member editors of the Washington Independent Review of Books (WIRoB) (www.wirobooks.com), which began when the Washington Post ceased publishing Book World. She interviewed authors and wrote regular articles about writing for WIRoB. Vailes designed a writing program for high school students while teaching in a Saturday program under the auspices of SAPE (Substance Abuse Prevention Education). For a few years, she has been a volunteer panelist for the DC Commission on Arts. She served as editor of The African Safari, by P.J. Fetner (St. Martin's Press) and Take Me with You, by Scott Jackson, President and CEO of Global Impact. Her short story, "Monroe" was published in an anthology of women writing about men, "Brothers and Others." She has travelled widely, and her bucket list includes the entire world. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and often enough, two sons. A Good Ending for Bad Memories is her first book.

---