Biography
Jim Ciletti, former president of Poetry West, and 2010-12 Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, has been on the poetry trail in Colorado since the early 1970's when he served in the Poets-In-The-Schools project in Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona. He lives with his wife Mary, in Colorado Springs.
Jim, the bookseller, sells antiquarian and out of print books with Mary at Hooked on Books. Jim and Mary created La Dolce Vita, a literary salon in Colorado Springs, and continue now at Hooked on Books with author signings, poetry events and writing workshops. He also serves as a performance mentor for the Poetry Out Loud program.
Active in the community, Jim served on the Friends of the Library Board, chairs the Frank Waters and Golden Quill Awards, and serves on the ABE arts in education awards committee. Jim says "As a mentor, my goal is to help poets 'go public' and learn how to present their work and give better public performances and workshops, and to write poetry that is more accessible to the community.” For 15 years Jim volunteer taught creative writing in two Colorado prisons. Jim has been published in many literary journals. His book of poems is Sunfire
Jim loves all things Italian, gardening, and making home-made wine. Jim has a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Loyola Chicago, and a Master's from Middlebury College, the Bread Loaf School of English.
Jim Ciletti's blog may be found at http://plumlover.wordpress.com
