C. Desirée Finley (Fin) poet + writer
Banner update 2/12/2025: a month of drawings depicting "cycle" beginning today. I'm in my head so much I thought I'd draw it.
![]() C. Desirée Finley is a writer and artist now living in western Massachusetts. Her poetry is published in Straw Dog Writers Pandemic Poetry, Silkworm Journal (print), Cape Cod Times & Willawaw Journal [Pushcart nomination] and some local anthologies like the amazing Meat For Tea. In 2000 she won 1st runner up in the Poets Seat contest. Finley says, "I've lived on both coasts, in cities and ocean adjacent, but what has influenced my writing most of all is having a mountain in my backyard." In addition to poetry, I write quirky short stories and have experimented with hybrid forms. It begins, as Ocean Vuong would say, with curiosity.
>>view poetry page MOTIVATION (for writing): "I love the apron of land behind where I live, how I can see the river when enough leaves have fallen in winter so I can see the river and at midnight, looking at moonlight on the snow. Now that I live by the side of a mountain, the poet side of me has stepped forward, and even though I used to think of myself as a strictly a fiction writer, there is a bleeding through from one genre to another. Poetry affects everything." >>Visit Fin's poetry page> Finley is a member of Straw Dog Writers Guild, Florence Poets Society, New England Poetry Club, SCBWI, and Willamette Writers (from her CA-Portland, Oregon days). She finds grounding and connection in western Massachusetts' community of writers. Mostly, she spends time writing and drawing and always has. If new to western Massachusetts and looking to connect with the writing community, here are a few links: R E S O U R C E S Western Mass. Links for Writers: (short list)
Stay in touch:
"At the Close of Day in Pieces (below) was written in the winter of 2020 when communication was limited to what we heard about each other's day and what we told each other. "I was (am) grateful for that communication, how we tried (still try) to be with each other in words even if our physical lives were (are) separate." |
My old twitter a/c was named Coastalwrite, but we're always on the coast of something, right? I've stopped using Twitter entirely. Try Instagram and FB although social media is a bit challenging right now AND
@rivering.bsky.social - a new social a/c I just opened ![]() And now for the visual side of me...
I've been an artist (oil, acrylics, mixed-media) for ages, primarily portraiture. A core of painting morphed into photography, which began with film and transitioned to digital. While photography and art (and web) were how I made my living, I'm now a full-time writer. I do not do visual art commissions, but I continue to slalom between art and writing. When I get stuck in writing, I draw. When I get stuck in painting, I write, and many combinations therein. Creating linear drawings is a new love. Here's one, which I named, 'Pandemic Ennui,' drawn with my finger, believe it or not, in Paint. ![]() Now that I have two new what I call pre-owned corneas, (transplants!) photography and the desire to capture moments in time, has returned. Soon there will be a rendezvous with my SLR. The visual feeds so much of what I think and feel anyway. I've tried over the years to separate the art side of me from the writerly side and I've discovered I am not able to separate these two creative entities. They remain conjoined. It's probably a good thing, as one practice reaches over and helps the other. February's drawings are an example. Here's a photo from Santa Cruz days called, 'The Swimmer,' and another photo I quite love - two people at the top of a dune, called, The View. Visit Design and Gallery pages for a peek at more art.
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All photographs and artwork on this website are under copyright.
© 2024, C. D. Finley
© 2024, C. D. Finley