It was Shirlene Bridgewater’s collage art that first caught my eye on Instagram. She’d combine text with images to create captivating posts that would always stop my scrolling. After Shirlene became a member of the See Jane Write Collective, however, I learned that collage art was just scratching the surface of her talent. Shirlene is a phenomenal poet. And her personal essays are top-notch, too. Shirlene is a former English teacher and editor and she once co-owned a bookstore. She’s worked in PR and she’s been a freelance journalist. Shirlene has done it all! But Shirlene is the See Jane Write member of the month because along with being a great writer she’s just a fantastic human being. She’s always cheering on other women in the See Jane Write community, pushing them to write and share their writing with the world. She even recently encouraged a fellow member to go after her goal of pursuing a master’s degree.

Get to know the September 2021 member of the month, Shirlene Bridgewater.