Tara L Carnes

Tara L. Carnes is a musician, writer, teacher, and spiritual director. She has an MA from the University of North Texas and spent over thirty years working as a music educator and church musician. In 2012, she began writing poetry as part of her coursework for the Haden Institute (Niagara Falls, Ontario) spiritual direction program.

She loves using the rhythms of words to embrace both the dark as well as the light in her work. In her first poetry chapbook, "Built to Last," she weaves the voices of survivors into poems to take a fearless look at domestic violence and the support systems that make it possible to heal from the trauma. "Built to Last" was awarded the 2022 poetry prize for the Hope Pyx Global international Book Awards.

Besides tough issues such as domestic violence, she writes poetry about nature, spirituality, and motherhood and utilizes them in her spiritual direction practice. Brené Brown stated, “When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending.” Tara looks forward to many years of sharing her experiences, and “living a brave new ending“ through the music of poetry!