Beth SKMorris
Filed under: Authors
Between November 2001 and March 2002, Beth SKMorris was a volunteer at the WTC Ground Zero Relief Project, Spring Street Warehouse in lower Manhattan, north and east of the Twin Towers. It was an art studio converted to a post-9/11 supply center warehouse and staffed by volunteers. They solicited donations and stockpiled and delivered supplies (from cough drops to firefighter protective jackets, Christmas cards to emergency kits) to the first responders and recovery crews working at all the Ground Zero cleanup and recovery sites. As one of the volunteers noted, "The real story, to be told one day, is how a small group of people...mobilized, coordinated, and managed this massive relief project."
Beth is the author of Nowhere to be Found (2014) and In the Aftermath: 9/11 Through a Volunteer's Eyes, commemorating the 20th anniversary (watch the book launch here); a Pinnacle, Firebird, Book Excellence Award Winner, Eric Hoffer Finalist, included in the Library of Congress archive The Poetry of 9/11. Her poems have appeared in Artemis, High Shelf, Broadkill Review, Crosswinds, Passager, Life & Legends, Oprelle, and anthologies by Moonstone Arts & Brownstone Poets among others. Beth holds degrees in Speech Science, English Language & Literature, and a Ph.D in Speech, Language, & Hearing Science.
After a career as a college professor and corporate communication skills consultant, Beth retired to concentrate on her writing. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Writers Center, Poets House in New York, and the Academy of American Poets. She continues to be active in the 9/11 community, especially through the Facebook group, "The New Victims of 9/11: Ground Zero Responders" in support of those who have succumbed to 9/11-related illnesses since 2001.
Website: https://www.bethsabard.info
Facebook: http://facebook.com/beth.morris.31337
Winning Entry: In the Aftermath: 9/11 Through a Volunteer’s Eyes
Contest Won: North Street Book Prize 2024, Honorable Mention
