Leanne Grabel, M.Ed., is a writer, illustrator, performer and special education and language arts teacher (in semi-retirement). In love with mixing genres and media, Grabel has written and produced numerous spoken-word multi-media shows, including "The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression"; "Anger: The Musical"; and "The Little Poet." Her poetry books include Flirtations; Lonesome & Very Quarrelsome Heroes; Short Poems by a Short Person; Badgirls (a collection of flash non-fiction, as well as a theater piece); and most recently, Assisted Living, a chapbook of graphic prose poems. Grabel has just completed Tainted Illustrated, an illustrated stretched memoir, which is being serialized in THE OPIATE. Grabel and her husband Steve Sander are the founders of Café Lena, Portland's legendary poetry café of the 90s. Grabel has two daughters, an itty bitty granddaughter, and the best dog. http://leannegrabel.com