Anne McCrady is a woman of many passions:

       poet, storyteller, writer, inspirational speaker,

       community leader, social activist, naturalist, spiritualist

       enthusiast for open-hearted living, wife, mother, daughter...

Anne at her InSpiritry Desk

POET/WRITER
When Anne McCrady is not on the road telling stories, speaking or visiting the world, she retreats to her studio in the piney woods of East Texas.

Her heartwarming stories, poems, essays and devotionals have been published in both online and print journals including High Grade, Lilliput Review, Devo'Zine, Entre Nous, The Midwest Poetry Review, RE:AL, Mediphors, Sweet Annie and Sweet Pea Review, Di-verse-city, Poetry.com, Aries, The Touchstone, Suddenly, Langdon Review, Windhover, New Texas, Texas Review and the Texas Observer.

Her writing has also been included in several American and international trade anthologies: Essential Love, The Freedom Anthology, My Heart's First Steps, The Book of Hopes and Dreams, Miracles of Motherhood and Cup of Comfort for Single Mothers. Though varied in subject matter, Anne's work explores the challenges and blessings of "living with an open heart."

Her poetry collection, Along Greathouse Road, was the 2003 winner of the Edwin M. Eakin Book Publication Award sponsored by the Poetry Society of Texas. It was printed in 2004 by Eakin Press and is now available as a double CD audiobook produced by InSpiritry Publishers. Her peace manuscript, Under a Blameless Moon, won the Pudding House Chapbook Contest, a national competition that included a cash prize and publication in 2008.

As powerful on stage as she is on the page, Anne has authored many of the stories she tells in her presentations. One of those stories, a powerful inspirational parable of healing, Kevin and the Seven Prayers, is available as a giftbook (InSpiritry Publishers, 2005). Her current writing efforts include poetry collections, narratives for oral storytelling, children’s manuscripts, a middle age novel and continuing political and social commentary. Of course, she also writes material for her blog and podcasts.

Anne is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, East Texas Writers Guild, the East Texas Writers Association and the Writers League of Texas. As a way to encourage other poets, Anne serves as a councilor for the Poetry Society of Texas and coordinates an annual student poetry contest for the Rusk County Poetry Society in East Texas. Anne is a frequent judge and critic for writers' groups and served as the editor for the 2008 Austin International Poetry Festival anthology, Di-verse-city. She is currently working as a co-editor on a collection of modern psalms for NeoNuma Arts.

Her writing honors include:

Besides the publications mentioned, Anne’s comments and letters to the editor have appeared in major newspapers, magazines and online sites, as well as on National Public Radio, Frontline and Air America. She also enjoys writing material for non-profit promotion, contemporary worship, corporate communication and mission-based marketing.

STORYTELLER
Anne McCrady has been delighting audiences with her storytelling for over a decade as she brings the poetic magic of language and music to traditional, personal and original narratives. Equally comfortable on a back porch with friends, an amphitheater stage, a classroom floor or a conference platform, Anne keeps audiences spellbound with her energy and passion. Having been known to use her guitar, percussion instruments, scarves, puppet boxes, string figures and even dance steps to enliven her stories, each performance is a treat.

Anne has been a featured storyteller at:

• Rusk County Heritage Syrup Festival
• The Squatty Pines Storytelling Festival
• The Texas Living History Day
• The Texas Storytelling Festival
• The National Storytelling Conference

As a storyteller, Anne is a member of the National Storytelling Network, the Tejas Storytelling Association and the East Texas Storytellers.

InSpiritry®
In 2003, Anne was searching for a descriptor to include all her creative endeavors, something that would be evocative of her belief in rekindling the creative spirit of individuals and organizations as a path to the Greater Good. The result was a coined word, InSpiritry®. Since registering it as her moniker, she has taken it as the name of her publishing house, her website and blogcast, her mission and her ministry.

As the founder and principal of InSpiritry®, Anne hopes her work supports a wider circle of facilitating those who believe "words should work for the Greater Good." To that end, InSpiritry offers three product lines:

InSpiritry Productions

Inspirational presentations and keynotes

Workshops, seminars, retreats and conference facilitation

Poetry readings and storytelling performances

InSpiritry Communications

Compelling content for corporate and non-profit materials

Mission Marketing™ Consulting

Organizational story development

InSpiritry Publishers

Independent publication of poetry, narrative and creative nonfiction

Support of uplifting, progressive writers

Print, Audio, Web content

InSpiritry Publishers has published Anne’s parable of peace, Kevin and the Seven Prayers, and produced her audiobook version of her poetry collection, Along Greathouse Road.

COMMUNITY LEADER
Not just a proponent of open-hearted living, but also a daily example, Anne has spent countless hours in community volunteer efforts, elected public office and mission outreach including serving the:

In partnership with her husband Mike, Anne’s philanthropy also extends to include various social, political, educational, medical, cultural and environmental groups as well as annual scholarships to local high school seniors, including:

• The First Up Scholarship for Students Who are the First in their Family to go to College
• The Legacy Scholarship which honors Students Who Have Had to Work Especially Hard to Overcome Obstacles
• The InSpiritry Scholarship given to a Student with Dreams of Changing the World

For her many efforts, Anne has been honored as a:

• Henderson Independent School District Lion Pride Award Winner
• Henderson Independent School District EAGLE Mentor
• Rusk County Chamber of Commerce Louise Jacks Young Woman of the Year
• Rotary International Fellow

Anne’s "politics of possibility" have led to her interest in a wide range of issues including education, race relations, poverty issues, women’s empowerment, environmental wisdom, healthcare, social justice, rural issues and non-violence. She has been active in local, state and national politics for many years and supports those who “resist boundaries” to embrace creative problem-solving, collaborative solutions, compassionate policies and courageous action.

Anne with Betty Elder, founder of the Yates Park School Supply Project

PERSONAL
Happiest when she is outdoors or in her studio writing, Anne lives on six acres in rural East Texas in a house of stone and light under the shade of hundred-year-old trees with her collaborator and husband, family physician Dr. Mike McCrady. She cites her mother and all the strong women in her extended family as the models for her endeavors and draws joy from a circle of friends and relatives, especially her amazing children: Dr. Kate and Phillip Hawkins, Andy McCrady and Patrick McCrady.

Anne McCrady and Her Family

Educated as a scientist and ever a student, Anne's avocations include gardening, guitar, cooking, dancing, singing and walking in the woods. For inspiration and guidance, she looks to the writings of poets too numerous to list, though Jala al-Din Rumi looms large, as well as open-hearted visionaries such as Jesus Christ, Saint Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Isadora Duncan, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, John Lennon, Martin Luther King, Rachel Carson, John Muir, Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Mohammad Yunus and courageous men and women everywhere. When asked to define her personal statement, she offers this short poem, written during a time of global conflict:

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Practice InSpiritry - You Can Be a Blessing!