Linda Henry lives on a 60-acre hillside farm on Turtleback Mountain. Her mornings are set aside for writing and the rest of her day is spent outside. The words she gathers from the day will be carefully crafted into her early morning writings.

People, land and community have always been at the heart of Linda’s life. Childhood visits to Orcas Island established a deep and rare bond to the fragile beauty of these islands. In 1962, she chose to make Orcas her home and entered island politics. She served as a County Commissioner, co-founded the San Juan Preservation Trust, and was a publisher of the Island Record Newspaper. Her first two books of poetry, First Lines and Just Looking, grew in part from the island environment. With courage, honesty and wit, she shares her account of the islands, the people she knows, and the things she sees.

Moving out of the political limelight gave Linda time to enjoy her love of learning. However, her generous spirit continued to keep a vital link to the community. She set up a Short Story Contest to empower students at Orcas Island High School, since writing had been such an extraordinary outlet for her energy. She helped organize poetry readings and a registry of island artists. She joined the first island writers’ group, started by Julianna Capdeville in 1996, which continues today. Linda’s writing and deep roots to community were acknowledged by the director of the Orcas Choral Society when she was asked to write and read a poem about the choir for its 25th anniversary celebration.

Linda recently hosted Linda Bierds during a poetry workshop on Orcas Island. Bierds has become a major influence on Linda’s poetry and has inspired her to go beyond writing short heart-felt poetry. This new awareness has opened her up to a new freedom of expression.

Her upcoming 3rd book of poems will be softer, more reflective. Look for her book in the spring of 2005. It will be hand set on a 1903 letterpress and printed by the Pump House Press, a new branch of Turtleback Press.