Dean Williamson, A Short & Incomplete Biography

I am a teacher and a story-teller by trade. I have a B.A. from Duke University in creative writing, and a doctorate in Native American Literature from the University of Colorado (focus on Native American and Chicano writing and racial and ethnic-identity formation in American culture).

My teaching career, on hiatus at the moment, has fourteen chapter-years to it so far. I teach writers and thinkers to find their own voices and use them—get them out in the world in the most effective and meaningful ways possible.

I have taught in secondary schools, public and private, four universities, and a medium-security prison. I currently direct the writing program, the sunflower center for the arts (www.sunflowercenter.org) and the InCommon Arts Market, a virtual gathering place to find and support working artists in all genres, from oils and sculpture to poets, chefs, yoga instructors, and massage therapists.

I have studied with Marti Spiegelman in Sebastopol, CA, for five years in extensive shamanic training and initiation in the Andean, Himalayan and West African traditions. I also have studied astrology and the eastern contemplative traditions.

My work embodies the teacher’s wisdom, happily empowering my students to discover their own gifts for knowledge and capacity for growth. I am also keenly aware, through my own experience, that the journey to awareness is one that demands commitment and respect and returns grace and vision.