Glenda Bailey-Mershon

Glenda Mariah Bailey-Mershon is a Romani-American poet, essayist, novelist, cultural historian, and human rights activist. Born in Upstate South Carolina to a family with roots in the Southern Appalachians, she has explored in poetry and fiction her European, Native American, and Romani heritage. Her published works include the novel, Eve's Garden; the full-length poetry collection, Weaver’s Knot; Bird Talk: Poems; saconige/blue smoke: Poems from the Southern Appalachians; A History of the American Women's Movement: A Study Guide, and four volumes as editor of the Jane's Stories anthologies by women writers, including Jane's Stories IV: Bridges and Borders (Jane's Stories, 2013), which includes work by women in conflicts around the world.

Her first novel, Eve's Garden, is the story of three generations of Romani women from a rural North Georgia family who cope with being outsiders in a harsh social environment by clinging to friendships and family. Eve's Garden was first published by Twisted Road Publications and is now available as an e-book on Amazon. It is a rare look inside the Romani-American subculture.

Weaver’s Knot: Poems (Finishing Line Press) evokes the mill towns and Appalachian region of the author’s youth and explores connections between generations, between people and loved places, and between people and the material universe. It has been widely praised by early reviewers.

Glenda has been a finalist in Our Stories fiction contest; featured author at the Illinois Book Fair; and a grant recipient from both the Illinois and Florida Humanities Councils as well as the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. Links to her blog, Weaver's Knot and to her book reviews at Women and Books can be found on this page.

She is a former bookstore and small press owner, and has taught women's studies, writing, anthropology, and political science. She is the originator of the Jane's Stories anthologies. As a tutor, she helps young people achieve their GED degrees and learn strong conversation skills in English.

A love of science and multicultural viewpoint is tangible in her poetry and fiction. Her short story, "Being Emily," which placed in Our Stories Journal's Fiction Contest, began with a question: What if a clairvoyant did not believe in her own gift? "Space Walk," originally published in qaartsiluni, is a love story based on astrophysics. Glenda has published two poetry chapbooks, sa-co-ni-ge: poems from the Southern Appalachians; and Bird Talk: Poems, as well as The History of the American Women's Movement: A Study Guide. Her novel, entitled Eve's Garden, includes the voices of a Romani grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter.

Glenda is a veteran of the 1960s civil rights movement and has served as president of two Now chapters and the Illinois State Chapter of the National Organization for Women. She appears in the reference book Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975, edited by Barbara J. Love. She is a member of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers and also served on the Board of the Foundation for Romani Education and Equality and as an Associate Member of the European Institute for Romani Arts and Culture (ERIAC). She would rather be outside than in and has been a practicing recycler and environmental activist from an early age.

History is a source of inspiration for her. In St. Augustine, Florida, where she formerly lived, she co-directed the Roots and Flowers project on Lincolnville, one of the nation's oldest African-American settlement. Also, she won an Award of Merit from the Illinois Historical Society for her work on the history of 1950s-era Park Forest. She has also received grants from the Florida Humanities Council to produce oral history transcripts and a photo collection from Lincolnville residents, and from the Florida's Division of Cultural Affairs for the sa-co-ni-ge chapbook, which chronicles one side of her family history in the Appalachians. She works closely with Jane's Stories Press Foundation.