Shelley Hicklin was born and raised in
Madisonville, Ky by two of the most loving and supportive parents any inversive poet could hope for.�She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1998 with a degree in Theater. A broken heart and a cold winter encouraged her to pack up and head for a warmer climate. She and a friend put all of their belongings in the back of an �89 Mercury Lynx hatch-back and traveled across
country with no job and no idea what the future might hold.
Having written all her life, Shelley was itching to share her poems with people but never had the guts to do it until after arriving in Vegas.
The people in the open mic circuit in Vegas were so kind and
encouraging she got over her stage fright enough to read and quickly became a favorite on the scene. Her influences include (but are certainly not limited to) Henry Miller, Gertrude Stein, Jack Kerouac, Sam Shepard, Nikki Giovanni, Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams and every poet she's ever heard at an open mic.
Created 17 June 2000
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Updated 1 July 2000